Family Life
by criminalmindsfan7
Summary: Aaron and Emily Hotchner's life is turned upside down when Aaron's teenage daughters move back in. How well will Emily do as stepmom to not just Jack, but two teenage girls? H/P, a little J/Ro and family. Entire team in later chapters. WARNING! Some angsty scenes, family arguments and not really a Haley friendly story. Teenage/Mature themes in some chapters.
1. chapter 1

Aaron Hotchner swiftly paced back and forth across the length of his bedroom. The FBI Unit Chief had gone into a state of shock, as mixed emotions flooded his mind. He was worried, happy, nervous, confused, ecstatic. His little girls where moving back home and he was so happy, he really was.

But how was he going to explain this to his wife? How would she feel about this?

"Emily." Aaron called for his wife of two years, when he finally found his words and calmed himself down.

Emily had already done so much for him and Jack. She'd given up her job for them. He never asked her to, but she wanted to do it, for him.

"Hey," she greeted him as she came into the room. "What's up?" she spoke in a cheery tone.

He gave her a small half smile, before gesturing for her to sit down next to him. "I need to talk to you about something."

"Okay, shoot."

"Well, you remember I told you about my daughters?" he gazed into her eyes, keeping a serious expression on his face.

"Yeah, Kari and Melissa." He had told Emily all about his daughters. Kari was the eldest at 16. Melissa was 15, only 11 months younger than Kari. Aaron always talked about his daughters; she could tell that he really missed them.

"Well, you know that they were staying with Haley's parents in England?" he questioned.

"Yeah." Emily had always gotten along with Aaron's ex wife, Haley, but she would be lying if she said she hadn't had bad thoughts towards the woman, when she heard that she had sent her daughters to England. Aaron was heartbroken when they left, he used to see them every other weekend and then Haley sent them away, because they were 'a bit of a handful'. He hadn't seen them in nearly three years now and it was hard to get time to talk on the phone, with his work schedule.

"Well, Haley's Mother died last weekend."

"Oh my God, that's awful. Are the girls taking it okay?" Emily asked, concern showing in her dark eyes.

"They're coping." He told her. "Haley's father, however, isn't coping. He's not well himself, so he can't handle two teenage girls."

"So are they coming back to Virginia?" Emily asked, confused by her husband's uneasy behavior.

"Yes."

"Aaron, that's brilliant, now you'll be able to see them all the time." Haley had recently signed custody of Jack over to Aaron and the little boy had moved in with them, three months ago. So would she be willing to take in two teenagers that she'd given up once before? "Are they moving back in with Haley?"

Aaron looked down to his hands. "That's the part that I really wanted to talk to you about."

"What?"

"Haley doesn't want them to move in with her. She's signed full custody of the girls over to me." He glanced up at her, searching her eyes for any sign of emotion.

"So… They're moving in with us."

"Is that okay with you?"

Emily thought about it for a minute, before a smile appeared on her face. "Aaron that's fine. In fact it's great."

"You're sure?"

"Of course, I know how much you miss Kari and Melissa." He beamed at her, before pressing his lips to hers. "Good job we decided to get the big house, isn't it?"

"I love you." He murmured against her lips, as he pressed a second kiss against her.

"I love you too." She leaned into his embrace. "When are they coming?"

"Friday and as I'm sure you know, it's the start of the summer vacation right now, so they'll be with you 24/7."

"Wow." Her eyes widened for a minute.

"Hey, don't worry; I'm not throwing you in at the deep end completely." He assured her, rubbing soothing circles on her back. "I'm taking two weeks off work, while the girls get settled in."

"Okay." Emily let out a sigh of relief at that. "Does Jack know that they're coming?"

"No. I wanted to run it past you first."

"Well, we better go tell him then." She smiled at her husband. "He'll be excited to see his sisters again."

* * *

Emily was right. Jack was over excited when he found out that his sisters were coming home. He hadn't seen them in three years but often spoke to them on the phone. He had missed playing with his sisters, they were so much fun.

Jack was more than happy to help his dad and Emily shop for furniture for the girls, the next day. Luckily they had a four bedroom house and had been keeping the two spare bedrooms as guest rooms, so they already had beds and dressers and were both fully painted, carpeted and had curtains.

They bought computer desks and bookcases for the girls. Aaron smiled, as he thought about how much Melissa loved to read. She was his little bookworm. Every time he phoned, she was always talking about an amazing book she was reading.

They bought duvets and pillow cases for the girls. Jack insisted on picking out these. He chose one plain purple set and a white one with little lilac flowers on for Melissa, happily explaining to Emily that purple was Melissa's favorite color. The little boy picked a red silky set and a black and white stripy set for Kari.

Emily watched as Aaron put together the furniture for his daughters, with the help of Jack. She could tell that the pair were counting down the seconds, until they would be able to see their family members again.

Finally Friday came and Aaron, Emily and Jack Hotchner arrived at the airport, to pick up the girls. Jack was so excited that he was going to get to see his sisters again, he was practically bouncing off of the car ceiling for the entire journey to the airport.

After waiting at the airport for over an hour, damn delayed flights, the plane finally came in. The young eight year old boy jumped up and down as he waited for the girls to come off the plane.

After another forty minutes of waiting, the teens finally came into sight, pulling their luggage behind them.

Jack ran over to the pair and the darker haired girl, Emily assumed was Kari, pulled him up into her arms for a big hug.

Aaron and Emily made their way over to the children. Kari was still holding the small boy tightly to her, as they reached them.

"Melissa." Aaron greeted his younger daughter, grinning as he pulled her into a hug.

"Hi dad." she said half heartedly, giving a small smile.

Kari finally let go of Jack and he jumped into Melissa's arms. "Hey buddy, I missed you."

Aaron then turned to his other daughter. "Kari, it's good to see you."

"Hi." She said to her father, before shifting her gaze to the raven haired woman beside him.

"Oh, Kari, Melissa, I want you to meet Emily, my wife."

The two teenagers looked Emily up and down, before sharing a look between each other. The light haired brunette was the first to speak. "Nice to meet you." she said, showing no smile and keeping her tone bland.

"Nice to meet you too." she smiled at the young girl, before turning to Kari. "Both of you."

"Sure it is." Kari spat sarcastically, turning back to pick up her case and bag.

"Kari." Aaron warned firmly.

"What?" She locked eyes with him, as anger built up within her. "Can we just get out of here?"

"Yeah, I really wanna get settled." her sister added, picking up her own baggage.

Aaron nodded to the girls. Kari took Jack's hand and the three children headed towards the exit.

"Emily I'm so sorry about…"

"It's fine Aaron, really. The girls just need time to adjust, I'm sure they'll come around. Trust me, teenage girls don't like change, but they'll get used to it."

He nodded, before wrapping his arm around her waist and following the kids out of the airport.

* * *

Okay so I'm not 100% sure were I'm going with this story, but I'd love to hear what you guys think. Apologies in advance if I'm a little slow updating, I have a very busy work schedule and I don't always have much time to write. I will try to update at least once a week though. Thank you so much for reading this, I hope you enjoyed and will continue to enjoy it.


	2. Chapter 2

Once again, thank you for reading. I hope you are enjoying reading this as much as I am enjoying writing it. Special thanks to **HPforever-after, storiesbime, criminalmindsbitch, lizzabet **and **any** for reviewing the first chapter. I'm glad you liked it. I will always try to reply to reviews (except anonymous ones obviously). Thanks again.

* * *

The car ride home was quiet. Kari and Melissa had a small conversation with Jack and he was extremely happy to have his sisters back.

When they arrived at the house Jack showed the girls his room, showing off all of his toys, before showing them to their rooms. He made sure to point out all of the things they had bought for them, including the new quilt covers.

Aaron and Emily went into the kitchen, to prepare lunch.

"What shall I make for the girls?" Emily asked, looking in the fridge.

"I don't know."

"I'll go and ask." She announced, closing the fridge door.

Aaron grabbed her arm, as she turned to leave. "I can go if you want."

"No, it's fine. I'll go."

He grinned at her as she walked out of the room. _The girls are going to have a hard time scaring her off._

As Emily was going up the stairs, Jack came running down. "Don't run on the stairs, honey."

"Sorry." the little boy called to her, as he bounced into the kitchen.

She continued her journey up the stairs, coming to Melissa's door, which was slightly ajar. She knocked lightly, causing the door to open further. "Hey, can I come in?"

Melissa turned around, a little startled, and gave a small nod to the older woman, so she entered the purple room. "We're making lunch downstairs, I was just wondering what you fancied."

"I'm not picky, I'll have whatever." she gave a small smile, before returning her attention to her case. "I'd ask Kari though, she's fussy."

"Okay thanks, I will do." The raven haired woman turned to leave. She stopped in the doorway. "Do you have everything you need? I mean is there anything I can get you?"

The girl didn't look up from her case; she just continued unpacking her things. "No."

Emily left the room, closing the door over behind her. She then made her way over to Kari's room and knocked lightly on the door.

"Who is it?"

"Emily."

There was a long pause, before Kari spoke with a low tone. "What do you want?"

"Can I come in please?" She asked politely.

Another pause. "Yes."

"Hey." Emily said cheerfully as she entered the room. Unlike her sister, Kari had gone for the 'Emily way' of doing things, and left her unpacking till later. The teenager was sat on the bed with her laptop on her knee. "Is everything okay with your room?"

"Yeah."

"Is there anything else you need?"

"No." Kari's eyes didn't move away from the screen.

Emily moved over and stood by the double bed. "I was just wondering what you wanted for lunch."

"I'm not hungry."

"You really should eat something." She sat down on the edge of the bed and gazed at the teenager.

Kari finally looked up from her computer. "I said I'm not hungry." she spat, and as if on cue, her stomach started to rumble.

Emily smirked at her. "Really?"

"Yes really." The teen practically hissed.

"Kari, you have to eat something." Emily stated, as firmly as she could, without sounding demanding.

Kari locked eyes with older brunette, glaring at her as she spoke. "Fine, I'll eat. Happy now?" she enquired, raising her eyebrows at her 'step mom'.

"Very. What would you like?"

"What have you got?"

"A lot." she chuckled lightly. "What do you fancy? A sandwich? A proper meal? Some fruit?"

"Sandwich."

"Okay, we have ham, peanut butter and jelly, cheese, salami, jam…"

"Grilled cheese sandwiches." She interrupted, returning her focus to the screen.

"Okay, grilled cheese sandwiches it is." Emily jumped back from the bed and walked out of the room.

"Hey!" The voice called from inside the room, as Emily started to close the door.

She pulled the door back open again and stepped inside. "Yeah." she spoke softly.

"Is it okay if I move some of the furniture around a bit?" Kari looked like she was embarrassed to ask. She glanced up at the woman and her eyes seemed to be pleading with her.

"Sure, do you need a hand?"

"You really don't mind?"

"Kari, this is your room, you can do whatever you want." For the first time since they'd met, the oldest teen gave Emily a genuine smile, only a small one and it only lasted a second, but still it was a smile. "Within reason," she added.

Once again, the young girl fixed her stare on the computer.

"Okay, I'm going to go and make some lunch, come down in a minute." The girl nodded. "And then after lunch, I'll help you move some things around, if you want me to."

"I can do it myself." Kari's voice and expression had turned sour again, just when things seemed to be going so well.

"Okay."

Emily returned to the kitchen, to find Jack sat at the table with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and Aaron leaning against the side.

"What are we having?"

"Grilled cheese sandwiches."

"Did Kari choose that, by any chance?"

"Yep."

"Some things never change, when Kari turned nine she asked if she could have a birthday cake made out of cheese."

Emily chuckled at the thought. "Come on then, let's make these sandwiches."

"Is Melissa having the same?"

"She said she'd have whatever. I can go and check if it's okay though."

"It's fine." A voice announced, from behind Emily, as Melissa and Kari entered the kitchen together.

The adults made the sandwiches and sat down and ate with the girls. Jack had finished his lunch, but stayed at the table with his family. They filled the time with talk, about what the girls got up to in England and what their interests were at the moment. Most of the conversation was between Jack and Melissa.

Kari spent the majority of the meal in silence, keeping a close eye on her dad's wife.

After lunch, Jack, Aaron and Melissa went into the back garden and began to kick a soccer ball around. Kari went straight back up to her room and Emily started the washing up.

The dark haired woman was nearly finished cleaning up; when she heard a loud bang upstairs. She quickly dried her hands and rushed up the staircase. Without knocking, she burst into Kari's room, to find the young teenage girl on the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees.

Without thinking, she jumped over to her and placed her hand on the girls shoulder. "Kari, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

The brown haired girl pulled away from her touch. "No, I'm not hurt!"

"What's wrong then, Sweetie?"

The youngster's head shot up and she gave Emily, what could only be described as a death glare. "DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

Emily was genuinely scared of the sixteen year old girl at this moment. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Kari's gaze softened slightly, but she stilled glared at the woman in front of her. "What's wrong?"

"It won't move." she breathed out.

Emily now looked around the room, to find the bed had been pushed into the far corner, there was a dresser in the middle of the room and another sticking out away from the far wall. The computer desk was sideways, away from the wall and a bookcase had fallen over.

"Come on, I'll help you." She offered, holding her hand out to the teenager.

Kari stared at the carpet, thinking for a moment before dragging herself up off the floor, refusing Emily's hand and not making eye contact with her.

"Okay, where do you want this?"Emily asked, gesturing to the desk.

"Over there." The teen pointed to the furthest wall from where it was now, the wall the headboard of her bed was against.

Once they'd finished moving all the furniture to where Kari wanted it, Emily collapsed onto the bed. "Wow, that was a mission."

Kari stood against the far wall, staring over at the woman sprawled out on her bed. "Thank you." she whispered, almost inaudibly.

A big smile spread across her face, as she heard her. "You're welcome. Are you sure this is where you want the bed?"

"Yeah, that's where I want it."

"Okay." Emily sat up. "I'll leave you to do… Whatever you kids are doing these days."

* * *

This was a Kari based chapter, next one will be more Melissa based and the first Non-Haley friendly chapter. Things will start to get angsty soon. I didn't really know where I was going with this story when the idea came to me, but I now have the first 25 chapters planned out on paper (If only writing stories was as easy and coming up with ideas and planning). I am hoping to have the next chapter up on Friday, Saturday at the latest.


	3. Chapter 3

Aaron had been kicking the ball around, with his two youngest children, for a few minutes in silence, before he finally spoke. "So Mel, What do you think about Emily?"

The girl thought about it for a short while, "She seems okay, I guess."

"So you like her?"

"Look Dad, if you're happy with her, then she's fine by me. As long as she doesn't start trying to play 'mom' or become my best friend, I'm sure we'll get along just nicely."

"Okay, that sounds fair." Aaron stopped the ball as it came to him, as he beamed over at his daughter. "Thank you." At this point, he started to think of his other daughter.

"Kari will come around as well." It was as if she had read his mind. "Just warn Emily that she shouldn't try and play 'mom' with her. She won't like that."

He nodded to the teen, before kicking the soccer ball over to his son.

"Daddy?" Jack stared up at his father, with a serious, slightly confused looking expression on his face. "What does Mellie mean by 'Emily shouldn't try to play mom'?"

The man looked between his son and daughter, unsure of how to answer. Luckily, Melissa jumped in for him. "It just means that Emily shouldn't try to be our mom, because she's not."

"But why?" The boy's expression was now even more confused. "She's really nice."

"I'm sure she is, but Kari and I don't want or need somebody to pretend to be our mom. The mom we have is bad enough, she doesn't care about us and we don't need someone else pretending to care." Jack looked upset by this, so the teen continued. "But if you want Emily to be your mom that's okay, me and Kari just don't want that."

The young boy thought about her words for a minute. "Okay." he replied with a grin and kicked the ball over to her.

When the threesome decided to call it a day and go inside, Aaron sent Jack upstairs to wash his hands. His youngest daughter's earlier words had been playing on his mind; he felt he needed to talk to her. "Mel, can I have a quick word?"

"Sure." she plopped down on the couch in the lounge.

Aaron moved over to her and took the seat beside her. "I wanted to talk to you about what you said before, about your mother." His eyes locked onto hers. "She does care about you."

"Don't feed me that crap, Dad. I'm 15 years old and smart enough to know that she doesn't care. If you wanna make out that she does to Jack, go ahead, but don't lie to me." she didn't raise her voice, but anger was present in her tone.

"Melissa honey, I'm not lying to you. You mom does care."

"Really?" Her voice was laced with attitude. "Then explain this to me. Why she sent us off to England and practically told us to our faces that she couldn't be bothered with us anymore. And we were in that damn place for nearly three years and you called as often as you could, even if you couldn't talk for long. But she didn't. In the three years we were there, she called us four times and three of those were only because of our bad behavior. She never sent us anything for our birthdays or for Christmas, not even for Kari's 16th. She doesn't care!"

"I'm sorry." Aaron glanced at his little girl, feeling awful for his daughters. He had no idea Haley had been that distant with the girls. "I didn't know that."

"It's fine, we've dealt with it. But you need to help Jack. She's going to cut him off too and he won't understand. Maybe it's best that he's already thinking of Emily as a mom, he needs a mom, but me and Kari don't." The teenager leapt up off of the couch, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. Aaron jumped up, as his daughter started towards the stairs. "No. I just want to be alone right now."

He nodded, before returning to the couch and flopping down on it. He put his hands to his head, unable to believe that Haley had treated them that way. Now he understood why the girls were so angry and distant. He understood why they found it hard to trust and open up to people. Melissa was wrong about one thing though, he believed they needed someone who could talk to them about the things he couldn't and love them like a mother. He knew Emily could be that someone, if they'd only give her a chance.

* * *

Hi! Thanks again for reading this. I'm really enjoying writing this story so I hope you are enjoying reading it. Special thanks to **lizzabet**,** criminalmindsbitch** and **HPforever-after**, for reviewing the second chapter.

I cut this chapter shorter than I had originally planned, but I have nearly finished chapter 4 so I should be able to update again tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

Later that evening, Aaron and Emily were snuggled up on the couch, watching an old western movie on the television. Jack came running into the room, with as much of his Lego as he could carry. He sat down cross-legged in the middle of the floor and tipped it all out.

Emily smiled down at the little boy, as he beamed up at her. "Hey little man, what you gonna build?"

The little boy shrugged his shoulders, as he stared down at the multi-colored bricks. "I don't know." He continued to think, before jumping up off the floor. "I'll go ask Kari and Mel if they want to help me make something." With that said, the youngster rushed out of the room and up the stairs.

"Do you think they'll play with him?" Emily asked her husband, slightly worried that the excited little boy would be disappointed.

"I honestly don't know. They like to keep to themselves, but it depends on how persistent Jack is."

"He's really excited about having them back home."

"Yeah I know, he really loves them."

Jack Hotchner arrived at the top of the staircase and walked to Melissa's door, which was the closest. He knocked three times, before calling for her. "Mel."

He heard movement on the other side of the door and waited patiently. The door opened slowly and Melissa stood in the doorway, smiling down at the young boy. "Hey Jack, what's up?"

"Do you want to come downstairs and play Lego with me?"

"Oh Jack, I'm sorry. I'm really tired, I just want to rest for a while okay." The little boy's face dropped. "I'll play with you tomorrow though, I promise."

"Okay, hope you sleep well." He gave her a small smile, before walking along to Kari's room.

Once again, he knocked three times. "Who is it?" the familiar voice of his oldest sister called from inside.

"It's me!" Jack shouted happily, still remaining outside the door.

"Come in." she called back to him, with a softer tone. He quickly opened the door and bounced into the room, to find his sister on the bed, with her laptop. "Hey buddy."

"Hi." He looked around the room. "Why is everything different?"

"What do you mean?" she questioned, smiling over at him.

"Everything's moved. The bed, the desk, the dressers, the…"

"Yeah." she cut him off. "I just prefer it this way."

"Oh okay, do you want to come down and play Lego?" Kari thought about it for a minute, she didn't want to go downstairs, but she did want to play with her little brother. "Pleeeease."

"Sure." she answered, as he gazed up at her with his sweet, little puppy dog eyes. "Anything for my little brother."

Jack ran over to her, after she put down the laptop and got off of the bed, and wrapped his arms around her. "I missed you."

Kari bent down into the hug. "I missed you too, buddy." she pulled back, but stayed down at his level. "Come on, let's go build something awesome."

"Yeah let's go!" He took hold of his sister's hand and led her out of the room.

Aaron and Emily Hotchner were pleasantly surprised, when Jack and Kari came into the room. The two kids sat down on the floor and started to talk about ideas on what to make.

"Did Melissa not want to come down?" Aaron asked his son.

"No, she was too tired."

Emily carefully watched the way Kari played with her brother. It was a contrast to what she had already seen of the teenage girl. "What are you making?" She had already heard them say, but wanted to make conversation.

"A really big house." Jack chimed back cheerfully.

"Like a mansion?"

"Yeah, do you wanna help?"

"Sure, I'll help." The raven haired lady lowered herself down off the couch, onto the floor.

Emily started to help building the Lego house and noticed that Kari had stopped talking, as soon as she had joined them on the floor. Emily immediately felt bad, she didn't want Kari to think she was trying to get in the way of her and Jack's fun. She offered the teen a soft smile, when her eyes shifted in her direction, but Kari just looked to the floor.

"Hey, it's getting pretty late." Aaron announced from his place on the couch. "We should probably get some dinner."

"Why don't we get a takeout?" Emily grinned at Jack and Kari, pulling herself back onto the seat.

"Yeah!" Jack shouted, beaming up at her. Kari just glared down at the Lego bricks saying nothing.

"What about pizza?" Emily asked.

"I don't like pizza." Kari said quietly, continuing to stare at the colorful toys.

"Oh okay, what do you fancy then?"

The teenager shrugged, refusing to look at the woman.

"Do you like Chinese?" she shook her head. "Indian?" Another no. "Err…"

"Order pizza." Kari said, standing up and heading towards the kitchen. "I'll make something else."

Emily quickly stood and followed her into the kitchen. She found the young girl stood with the fridge open, searching through it. "Hey." she called to her. "I'm sorry."

"What for? You haven't done anything wrong." She still wouldn't look at her.

"I wanted to get something we could all eat together."

"Just order pizza, I don't mind." Kari pulled some cheese out of the fridge, causing Emily to chuckle softly. At this point, the teenager finally looked up at her. "What are you laughing at?"

"I was just thinking about something your dad told me before."

"What?" she asked, her tone softer than usual.

"He said you once asked for a birthday cake made out of cheese."

"I like cheese." Kari replied, with the smallest hint of a smile playing on her features.

"Are you sure you don't want to get a takeaway with us?" Emily asked, as the girl started to cut the cheese. "We don't have to get pizza, we can have anything."

"I just want cheese sandwiches." she spat, a bit harsher than she wanted to. "Mel really likes pizza, you should go tell her."

"Okay." The dark haired woman left the room and entered the lounge, where Aaron and Jack sat looking up at her.

"What are we doing then?" her husband asked.

"Pizza." she announced, grinning at the little boy on his father's lap, as his face lit up. "Do you want to go and tell your sister?"

"But she was tired, what if she's sleeping? I don't want to wake her."

"Okay, I'll go check." With that said, she swiftly made her way upstairs, to Melissa's room.

She slowly opened the door and peered inside, to find the girl glaring up at her, from behind a thick book. "Don't you knock?"

"Sorry, Jack said you might be sleeping. I didn't want to wake you if you were." Emily defended.

"It's okay, I guess. What do you want?" Melissa put her book on the side and stood up.

"We're ordering pizza, I just wondered what kind you wanted."

"Pepperoni." The teen replied immediately.

"Okay, I'll call you down when it gets here."

"Wait." Melissa called, as Emily turned to leave. "What about Kari? She doesn't like pizza."

"I know." She turned back to the girl. "Your sister's in the kitchen with a block of cheese, so she's happy."

The youngster chuckled slightly. "Sounds about right."

* * *

I know not a lot really happened in this chapter, but I'm just getting into it. Things will start to spark up soon I promise. Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing and following and special thanks to **lizzabet**, for reviewing every chapter so far. Will try to update again sometime this weekend.


	5. Chapter 5

When the pizza arrived, Aaron paid the delivery boy, while Jack ran upstairs to get Melissa. Emily stayed in the lounge, watching Kari continue building the Lego house. The eldest teen's behavior intrigued Emily. She seemed angry at the world, but there was a soft side to her, a side that she was slowly starting to show.

The raven haired woman observed, how Kari still seemed to be enjoying playing with the Lego, even though Jack wasn't there. There was a childish side to the teenager, a part of her that just wanted to play and be a kid.

The teen's eyes flickered up and caught onto Emily's gaze. "What?" she spat, sitting back and wrapping her arms around her knees.

Her facial expression showed anger and attitude, but her body language told a different story completely. It suggested the girl was fragile and in need of comfort. This theory was confirmed, as Kari pulled her knees closer, unintentionally hugging herself. Emily wanted to pull the girl into her arms and ask her why she felt so sad, but the anger in her eyes told her not to.

"What?" She repeated, raising her voice slightly. "Why are you staring at me?"

Aaron came into the room, carrying a few large pizza boxes, before she could answer the teenager. "Jesus Em, how much did you order?"

"Sorry, I wanted to make sure there was enough."

"It's okay, it won't go to waste with Melissa in the house," he chuckled quietly. "Right Kari?"

"Whatever." The dark haired girl stood up swiftly and ran off upstairs.

Emily jumped up to chase after her, feeling responsible for the outburst. "Just leave her Em, she needs time to cool off." Aaron told her, opening up the first of the large boxes. "Let's eat."

"Wow!" Jack shouted, as he came into the room, dragging Melissa behind him, and saw all the pizza.

The four settled down on the couches and dug into the delicious feast. Aaron and Melissa were still eating, while Emily cleaned up. Jack returned to the Lego house, which was getting really big. As she watched him play with the bricks, she couldn't help but feel sorry for Kari. Why did she distance herself from the family, so much?

"Emily?" Jack stared up at her.

"Yeah honey."

"Where's Kari gone?"

"She's gone back upstairs sweetie." Emily looked to the floor as she spoke.

"But the house isn't finished." He sounded slightly upset.

"I'll help you finish it." She sat down on the floor next to him.

"Okay, I'll go see if Kari will come down." Jack jumped up and was out the room, before Emily had registered what he'd said.

Twenty minutes had past and Jack still hadn't returned, with or without Kari. Aaron and Melissa had finally finished stuffing their faces and where now sprawled out on the couch. The teen rested her head on her father's shoulder, closing her eyes.

"You should go to bed." He whispered into her hair. "It's been a long day."

She nodded and placed a kiss on her father's cheek, before standing up. "Night, Dad."

The teen then made her way past Emily towards the door.

"Good night, Melissa." Emily called, as the teen reached the doorway.

Melissa twisted round and shifted her gaze between her father and Emily. She saw her father silently pleading with her, to be nice to his wife. And why shouldn't she? Emily seemed nice enough. "Good night, Emily." The teenager flashed a small smile, before rushing off upstairs.

Aaron watched his wife, still sat on the floor, playing with his son's Lego. "Enjoying yourself?" He enquired, with a teasing smirk.

"Jack said he was coming back down, he only went upstairs to get Kari."

"Sure he did," the older man teased. "Any excuse to act like a child."

Emily beamed up at her husband, before standing and joining him on the couch. "So, how does it feel to have your daughters back at home?"

"It's great. I mean they've been a bit of a pain already and I'm going to talk to Kari about the way she's been acting towards you, but ultimately I love having them here." He smiled at her. "How do you feel about it?"

"They're great girls. And don't worry about Kari, she's just a teenager having mood swings, she'll come around. I helped her move some of her furniture around before, when you were in the garden, she was nice. She even thanked me."

Aaron grinned at her, before pressing a passionate kiss to her lips.

"Let's go and see where Jack's got to." He said, after about fifteen minutes of comfortable silence.

The two adults quietly made their way up the staircase, not wanting to wake any of the children, if they were asleep. They reached the top of the stairs and noticed Melissa's door was ajar. Emily popped her head inside, to check on the teen. "Aaron, she's not in here."

The man walked towards his other daughter's bedroom and slowly opened the door, desperately trying not to make a sound. He chuckled quietly, as he glanced over to the bed in the corner. "Come and look at this." He whispered, with a huge grin plastered across his face, as his wife approached him.

The pair stepped inside the room and Emily's face matched his as she looked over to the corner of the room, to witness all three children, snuggled up in the double bed. Kari was closest to the wall with Jack cuddled into her chest and Melissa on the other side of the little boy, with her arm over the top of him.

"You have three amazing kids." Emily whispered into her husband's ear.

He pulled on her arm and they left the room, carefully closing the door behind them. "I know, I'm the luckiest man alive. Three amazing, beautiful children and one amazing, beautiful wife, now all living under one roof. I love my life."

She grinned at him and pulled his head down into a tender kiss. "I love you." she let out, against his lips.

"I love you too."

* * *

Sorry, but I've had to disable anonymous reviews. I got a very nasty review on Friday and it really upset me. I have no problem with criticism, but there's a big difference between being critical and just being mean. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but just try to keep people's feelings in mind when you're reviewing **any** story.

Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing and following this story. Special thanks to **lizzabet** and **HPforever-after** for your reviews. Will try to update again soon.


	6. Chapter 6

Jack woke up to find himself squeezed in between his sisters. Kari was awake and smiling down at him, but he could hear Mel's heavy breathing behind him, so assumed she was still asleep."

"Sleep well, buddy?" His older sister questioned, quietly.

"Yep, can we sleep like this every night?"

Kari giggled softly. "Probably not every night, but we can definitely do it again."

"Hey." Melissa called to them, as she lifted her heavy lids.

"Morning, sleepy head." Kari replied to her younger sister.

"How long have you two been awake?"

"I only just woke up." Jack announced, turning onto his back so he could see both of his sisters.

"About an hour." Kari said.

The threesome chatted for a short while, before there was a light knock on the door.

"Come in." Kari shouted, sitting up and resting against the headboard.

The door opened and the children's father stepped into the room. "Morning." he announced walking over to the bed "Are you three planning on getting up any time soon?"

"Why, what time is it?" Melissa enquired.

"Nine thirty."

"Can we have pancakes for breakfast today?" Jack asked, climbing out of the covers and off the end of the bed. "Pleeeease."

"I suppose so."

"Yay!" The little boy bounced out of the room, leaving Aaron alone with his girls.

"Are you two okay with that?"

"Sure." Kari replied.

"Kari should make them. She makes the best pancakes in the world." Melissa threw in excitedly.

"Really?" Aaron looked at his eldest, with a grin.

"They are pretty good." Kari admitted. "I'll be down in a minute, I wanna change first."

"Yeah me too." Her little sister added.

"Okay, we'll wait for you downstairs. I can't wait to try some of the world's best pancakes." With that said, he exited the room.

"What do you think of Emily?" Melissa asked her sister, the moment her father had left the room.

"I don't know." Kari said, looking away from her.

"Dad asked me that yesterday."

"Really?" She asked. "What did you say?"

"Well I didn't really know what to say, I'd only known her for five minutes." Both girls were now searching through Kari's closet for something to wear. "I just said if he's happy, then I'm fine with her, as long as she doesn't start trying to play 'mom'"

"Good answer."

"I thought so." The younger teen pulled out one of her sister's black miniskirts. "Hey, can I wear this?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, I'm just gonna go get changed in my room."

While Melissa was gone, Kari changed into a pair of black skinny jeans and a white tank top. She went into her tiny en-suite bathroom and washed her face, before putting on a small amount of make-up and brushing her hair. The girl finally threw on her black converse and left her bedroom. She found her sister waiting outside the door for her, wearing a purple tank, along with the mini skirt.

The girls walked into the kitchen, spotting Jack and Emily sat opposite each other at the table. "Where's Dad?" Melissa questioned.

"He's outside, on the phone with a friend." Emily replied, grinning at the girls.

The younger of the two girls came and sat at the table next to Jack, while Kari moved over to the counter and started to prepare the ingredients that had been left out for her.

After a short while, Aaron joined his family in the kitchen, taking the seat at the head of the table. "We are going to have some visitors today."

"Who?" Jack questioned.

"Dave and JJ are coming round, with Henry and Ella."

"Who are they?" Melissa asked, with a bit of a frown.

"It's David Rossi, you girls met him a few times and JJ is his wife. I work with them both and Emily used to too. Henry and Ella are their children. They want to come over and meet you girls."

"Great." Melissa said, in a sarcastic tone. "More strangers."

"Mel!"

"What?" she spat. "Don't you get it, we haven't even settled in yet and you're showing us off like prize winning farm animals."

"Mellie." Jack called, with a shaky voice. "I like it when they come round, they're really nice."

The teen smiled down her little brother. "I'm sure they are buddy. We just don't like strangers."

"But they're not strangers. I've known them for ages." he whined.

"Pancakes are ready." Kari announced walking over to the table, placing the pile down in the middle, putting a stop to the argument.

The family ate breakfast in silence, after that. Melissa finished first and quickly excused herself to her bedroom.

"Wow." Emily said when she couldn't eat anymore. "They were the best pancakes I've ever eaten."

"I'll second that." Aaron added, smiling at his daughter.

"I could eat these every day." Jack threw in, reaching for another pancake.

Aaron turned his attention to his son. "Don't eat too many Jack, I don't want you being sick."

"Okay Daddy. Just one more."

"Okay, one more."

"What time are JJ and Dave coming round?" Emily asked.

"Noon." The man stood up. "I should probably go talk to Melissa."

With that said Aaron exited the kitchen and headed up to his youngest daughter's room. He knocked and then entered, finding his little girl on the bed reading a book.

"You know, there's no point knocking if you're just gonna walk in anyway." Melissa said, not lifting her eyes from the novel she held.

Aaron moved over to the side of the bed and waited for his daughter to look up at him before he spoke. "What's up, Mel?"

"Nothing's up." She replied blandly. "I'm reading."

"What was all that in the kitchen?"

"Pancakes."

"Don't be a smartass, Melissa." He let out a sigh. "Why don't you want to meet my friends?"

"Because I'm not your shiny new toy." She spat.

"I know you're not honey, but I'm just so proud of you and your sister. I can't help but want to show you off to my friends."

"Yeah, well I don't want to meet anymore strangers yet."

"More?" He scrunched up his eyebrows. "I haven't introduced you to any strangers yet."

"Emily's a stranger." Melissa returned her vision to her book.

"No she's not."

"She is to me." Mel looked up again as she heard her father sigh. "Look I don't mind her because she's your wife, but no one else. We haven't even been her 24 hours. Let us get used to the change."

"Okay, I won't force you to come down later." Aaron told her. "But I'm going to ask you to think about it. Please."

The teen didn't answer that, she just focused her attention on the novel, as her father left the room.

Emily turned to her stepson after her husband left the kitchen. "Jack can you tidy up some of the Lego in the front room, when you've finished your breakfast, please?"

"But the house isn't finished yet." The young boy whined.

"You can finish it later, just pick up all the loose bits."

Jack swallowed the last bite of his pancake, before jumping up and heading towards the lounge. "Okay Mommy."

_Mommy. Did he just call me Mommy? _Emily was so happy, she wanted to jump up and down with joy. She was pulled out of her thoughts, by the clatter of plates.

"Hey, you can leave those, I'll clean up." Emily said.

"It's fine."

"You made breakfast, it's only fair that I clean up."

Kari continued to stack the plates. "I want to do it."

"Can I help at least?"

"Can I stop you?"

Emily snickered. "Probably not. You wanna wash or dry?"

"Wash."

They cleaned up in silence for a long time, before Kari finally spoke. "How long has Jack been calling you 'Mommy'?"

"That was the first time, actually." Emily couldn't tell from the teen's voice or body language how she felt about that. "It kinda took me by surprise."

"Do you like it?"

"I'm happy that Jack trusts me and thinks of me as part of the family, so yes. But I'm not trying to replace your mother."

"Haley's not our mother, she hasn't been for years." Kari stopped cleaning, gazing up at the woman. "Look, I don't know you. If Jack thinks of you as his mom, that's probably good, he won't miss Haley as much. Just don't let him down, okay."

"I won't, I promise."

"Okay, but if you do…"

"I won't."

They continued washing up in silence, from then on. They were nearly finished, when Emily picked up a plate that slipped out of her hand. She quickly tried to grab it, effectively knocking it into the bowl, with a big splash. Water sprayed up, soaking Kari's white tank.

_Oh God. _"Kari, I'm so sorry. I…" Before she could finish, the teenager's hand made contact with the water in the bowl. Dragging it swiftly towards Emily, she successfully managed to make the woman as wet, if not wetter than herself.

Emily looked down at her, now soaked, shirt and pants. She was unsure whether Kari did that out of anger, or for a joke. She found the answer to that, when she moved her gaze onto the girls face and saw her grinning at her. Emily couldn't help but return the grin. She'd not seen Kari smile like this yet and wanted to keep that smile there as long as she could.

The dark haired woman noticed Kari moving her hand back into the bowl of water. She responded by grabbing hold of her glass of water on the counter.

Aaron walked into the kitchen, just as his daughter splashed water out of the bowl onto his wife and she in return threw a glass of water over her. "What's going on in here?"

The two females turned to face the man in the doorway, instantly starting to giggle.

Aaron couldn't stop the smile that presented itself on his face, as he witnessed his wife and daughter getting along. "You two should go upstairs and change, I'll clean up your mess down here."

Kari gave Emily one more smile, before skipping off out of the room.

"How did that happen?" Aaron asked, as his wife came towards him.

"I don't know, it was an accident. I splashed her when I dropped one of the plates. I thought she'd be angry, but when I looked up, she was grinning at me."

"Em, this is great." He pulled his wife in for a kiss. "Now go get changed."

* * *

Thanks for reading guys, hope your still enjoying it. Special thanks to **lizzabet**, **Pheonix1995**, **HPforever-after** and **leahloahla** for you reviews on the last chapter. I will try to update soon.


	7. Chapter 7

Jack sprinted to the front door, after hearing the bell ring. He pulled it open quickly and beamed up at Dave and JJ, who happily smiled back at him.

"Hey Captain Jack." JJ greeted him, pulling him into her arms for a hug.

"Hi JJ."

Aaron and Emily appeared in the doorway. "Hey guys, come on in."

The couple entered the house, with a five year old Henry and three year old Ella.

Once all of the adults where settled down in the lounge with drinks, Jack and Henry went into the back garden to play with the soccer ball. Little Ella was sat on her mom's lap playing with her hair.

"So where are these girls of yours, Aaron?" Dave enquired.

"Upstairs." He replied. "I had no idea, until yesterday, how much time teenage girls spend alone on the computer."

"I'll go get them." Emily announced, standing and swiftly exiting the lounge.

"When the girls come down, if they're a little off with you, don't take it personally." Aaron told them, after his wife left. "They're not settled in yet and Melissa's already made a point of telling me that they don't like strangers."

Dave and JJ nodded, showing understanding expressions.

Emily Hotchner reached the top of the stairs and decided to try and get Kari to come down first. She hoped they'd still be on good terms, after the water incident this morning and that Kari would help her get Melissa downstairs as well.

After knocking on the door, she waited for permission to enter.

"Come in." The teenager called to her.

"Hey." Emily greeted, as she walked into the room. She noted how the girl had pressed herself into the corner, on her bed.

Kari wasn't smiling at the moment, but didn't show any hostility towards Emily either. "What's up?"

"Dave and JJ are here, they wanna meet you and you sister."

Kari's face dropped, as she stared at the pattern on her bed covers. "I don't like meeting new people." she confessed, as if she was ashamed of it. "The less people you know, the less people there are to screw you over."

"Oh honey, JJ and Dave are really good friends of mine and your Dad's" She moved closer to the bed. "They're really nice people, I promise."

"I still don't like it."

"How about you come down for ten minutes and then I can remind you about a friend you have to call, so you have an excuse to leave?"

Kari's lips twitched up, at Emily's efforts. "Fine, I'll come down. But don't do the friend thing. I may not be the nicest of people, but I don't lie. If I want to leave, I'll leave."

"Okay." With that said, the pair left the bedroom and headed towards Melissa's door. "Can I ask for one more favor?"

"You can ask."

"Help me convince your sister to come down."

"I'll try." Kari knocked on her sister's door, walking in straight after. "Hey Mel."

"Hey." Melissa smiled at her sister, her expression changing though, when Emily came into the room. "What's going on?"

"Dad's friends are here and they wanna meet us."

The younger girl glared at her sister. "Well I don't wanna meet them."

"Come on, neither do I, but we're going to have to meet them eventually."

"I'm not coming down. I thought I made that clear at breakfast. I don't like strangers."

"Neither do I, normally I'm worse than you."

"I'm not going, Kari."

Emily jumped in at this point. "Mel…"

"And you can fuck off as well." she spat. "You're just as much of a stranger as they are. I tolerate you because Dad loves you, but don't try to be my friend. Now get the fuck out of my room!"

"Okay." Emily replied, leaving the room, slightly in shock.

Kari stared over at her younger sister, wearing a vacant expression, for a short while, before following Emily out of the room. They said nothing to each other as they made their way down the stairs.

Dave and JJ glanced over at the doorway, as Emily came back into the room, followed by a dark haired girl in a red tank and black skinny jeans. Aaron sighed quietly at the fact that only one of his daughters had come down. He smiled over at his eldest. "Dave, JJ, this is Kari, my eldest daughter. Kari, these are my good friends, Dave and JJ and this is their little girl, Ella."

"Hi." The teen said softly, staying slightly behind Emily.

"It's nice to meet you, Kari." The blonde lady said, from her place on the couch. The teenager nodded back to her.

Dave spoke next. "We've met a few times before actually, when you were a lot younger. Do you remember me?" She shook her head, no. "Well, you've grown into quite the fine young lady."

"Thank you." she replied quietly, staring down at the floor.

Aaron was shocked by how shy his daughter seemed to be at the moment. "Will Mel be down in a minute?" he asked, apprehensively.

"No. She's not coming down." Emily responded.

Aaron stood up off the couch. "I wouldn't." Kari told him, knowing what he was about to do. "I couldn't get her to come down, you don't stand a chance."

"I think she's right, Aaron." His wife added.

He nodded to them, before sitting back down and turning his attention to their guests. "I'm sorry."

"That's okay." The couple replied, simultaneously.

Dave looked back to the teenager. "So Kari, how have you settled in?"

"I haven't yet."

"Oh… well…"

"Kari!" Jack called, cutting Dave off, and running up to his sister with a grin plastered across his face.

"Hey buddy."

"This is my friend, Henry." her little brother announced, proudly. "Henry, this is my sister Kari, she's pretty awesome."

"Hey Henry." Kari kneeled down on the floor, getting to the same level as the little boy.

"Hi." he said, beaming at her, before holding his arms out for a hug, which Kari excepted. JJ and Dave smiled over at their son and the teenage girl.

"Where's Mellie?" Jack asked, looking a little disappointed, as his eyes searched the room.

"She's upstairs." Emily told him. "Maybe she'll come down later."

"Okay."

"Jack, what have I told you about wearing shoes in the house, after you've been in the garden?" She said, after spotting the trail of muddy footprints behind the boys.

"Sorry, Mommy." Jack sat down and quickly pulled his shoes off. Aaron, Dave and JJ's eyes widened, as they heard the little boy's words. "Come on Henry, we have to wash our hands too." he said, after helping the younger boy out of his shoes.

JJ turned to Emily, as soon as the boys left the room. "How long has he been calling you 'Mommy'?"

"Since this morning." she replied, with a grin.

"You mean that wasn't the first time?" Aaron questioned.

"No, he said it once this morning, after breakfast."

"Emily this is brilliant." Her husband showed off the dimples that she loved to see.

The little boys came back into the lounge. Henry wandered over to his father and climbed up onto his lap, whilst Jack walked over and stood next to his oldest sister.

"Mommy, I hungry." The little girl on JJ's lap announced.

"Me too." Jack shouted out, happily.

"How can you possibly be hungry, after all the pancakes you ate this morning?" Aaron asked his son.

The small boy giggled, shrugging his shoulders.

"Are you guys hungry?" Emily asked their guests.

"I am." Dave replied. "But you know me Emily, I'm always hungry."

"I'll eat if everyone else is." JJ said. "What about you Henry? Are you hungry?"

The boy nodded.

"That's settled then. Lunch time." Emily smiled over at the family. "I'll throw something together. What do you fancy?"

"Just some sandwiches will do nicely." JJ answered. "Peanut butter and jelly for the kids and we'll have whatever you're having."

"Oh I don't think I can eat anything, after the amazing breakfast I had." she said, smiling over at Kari, who returned a small smile, before looking to the carpet.

"Me too." Aaron added.

"Oh well if you wanna just make something for the kids then, that's fine." The blonde said.

"No no. I'll make you all something." Emily insisted. "How about chicken?"

"Sure, chicken's great."

She nodded. "What about you Jack?"

"Peanut butter and jelly please."

"Okay. Cheese?" Emily enquired, turning to her step daughter.

She shook her head. "I'm not hungry." The raven haired woman nodded, before turning towards the kitchen. "Can I help?" Kari called to her.

"Sure."

Emily and Kari exited the room. Jack moved over to the couch his father was sat on and flopped down next to him. "Daddy?"

"Yes."

"Can I go show Henry the Lego house, me and Kari started to build?"

"Okay, but be quick, lunch will be ready soon."

"We will."

"I come?" Ella called for her mom's knee.

"Sure." Jack answered smiling at the little girl.

"Be careful on the stairs, Ella." JJ said to her.

"I'll look after her." Jack announced, proudly, earning a grin from the blonde lady.

Once the kids disappeared out the room, Dave turned to Aaron. "She's beautiful, Aaron."

"Yeah she is. I'm sorry about Melissa."

"It's fine. We'll catch her next time."

At this point, Emily and Kari came back into the room, balancing several plates. "Where are the kids?" Emily asked.

"They've gone upstairs to look at the Lego house."

"I'll go get them." Kari offered, after placing the plates down on the coffee table.

About two minutes later Jack and Henry came running into the room, shortly followed by Kari, carrying Ella. She placed the little girl down on the floor and sat down cross-legged.

Jack passed one of the plates to Henry and then another to Ella, before taking one for himself and sitting down next to Kari.

Ella climbed onto the teen's lap and snuggled into her chest, with a sandwich in her hand. Kari lightly brushed her fingers over the little girl's dark blonde hair, causing Ella to smile.

After they'd finished eating, Jack and Henry went back outside to play soccer. Dave and Aaron took the plates into the kitchen, offering to clean up.

Ella had managed to get half way through her first sandwich, before falling asleep on Kari's lap.

"You're a natural with kids." JJ said to the teenager holding her sleeping daughter. "Do you want kids, when you're older?"

The girl nodded to the blonde, still running her fingers gently over the little girl's hair, rocking ever so slightly.

"We should probably get going, we need to make a trip to the supermarket." JJ said, as her husband came back into the room.

"Okay, I'll go get Henry."

The blonde came over to Kari and lifted her daughter up into her arms. "It was really nice meeting you."

The teen gave a small smile, getting up off the floor.

Jack and Henry ran back into the room, followed by Dave. "Bye JJ." Jack called.

"Bye honey."

Dave came up behind Kari, placing his hand on her shoulder, he pulled her into his side. Kari whimpered quietly and quickly jerked away from the man's touch, glaring at him, before her expression softened as tears appeared in the corners of her eyes and she wrapped her arms around herself. She ran out of the room and straight upstairs without a word.

"Aaron, I'm so sorry. I didn't…" Dave started to apologize to his friend.

"Don't worry about it." He assured him. "I never would have expected her to react like that."

Aaron and Jack walked their guests out to the car, saying their goodbyes. Emily wandered into the kitchen, confused by Kari's actions. She'd been doing so well. Emily was arguing with herself, unsure of whether to go to the girl or not.

* * *

Hi, thank you again to anyone who is still following this story. Special Thanks to **Pheonix1995**, **Sapphiredark** and **lizzabet** for reviewing chapter 6. Hopefully, it shouldn't be too long before I can update again. Quick warning, next chapter is going to be an angry one.


	8. Chapter 8

Before she could change her mind, Emily grabbed something out of the fridge and made her way upstairs. She stopped outside Kari's door and took in a deep breath, before knocking firmly.

"Go away!" The voice yelled, from inside.

Emily ignored the order, slowly opening the door and entering the room.

"Are you deaf?" she spat. "I said go away."

The raven haired woman gazed over at the girl, huddled up in the corner on her bed. She was pulled into a tight ball and pressed herself against the headboard and the adjacent wall. "I brought you something, honey." Emily announced cheerfully, waving a packet of cheese slices around.

"What do you want?" Kari mumbled, resting her head against the wall, staring along it.

"To talk." The woman approached the bed, but didn't sit down. "May I?" she asked, gesturing to the large bed.

The teenager shrugged, glaring at the wall.

Emily took her chances and lowered herself down onto the bed. "Do you want these?"

Kari quickly glimpsed over at the cheese slices being held out to her. "No."

"Can I ask you something, Sweetie?"

"I'VE TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT!" She lashed out, throwing herself down onto the bed and slapping her hands to her face.

She now lay out flat, face down on the bed, crying silently to herself. Emily slowly moved her hand over to the back of the girl's head. "I'm sorry." she breathed out, as she started to graze her fingers, softly over the teen's hair. "I'm sorry."

They stayed like this for several minutes, neither saying a word to the other. After a short while, Emily pulled her hand away from her step daughter's hair.

"Hey," Kari protested, into the pillow underneath her.

"What?"

"I was enjoying that." she whispered, almost as if she was embarrassed to admit it.

A huge smile appeared on the pale faced woman, at the girl's words. She brought her hand back down to the teenager's head. "Will you talk to me now?"

She nodded into the pillow, not wanting to lift her head.

"Why don't you like being called… that?" Emily was careful not to say it again.

There was a long pause before Kari answered. "I just don't." she started to cry again.

"Look at me, honey." Emily tugged lightly on her arm. She continued, when Kari twisted her head to the side. "Why did you run away from Dave earlier?"

"Because..." Tears streamed down her face, as she spoke.

"Why, honey?"

"It doesn't matter." she responded through her sobs.

"If it's upsetting you, then it does matter." Emily assured her.

The teenager slowly turned her face back down into the pillow. "I'm fine." she choked out quietly. "I don't know why I ran away from your friend."

Emily rolled the sobbing girl over and pulled her into an upright position, wrapping an arm around her. "What happened to you?" She knew something had happened to her in the past. She didn't need to be a trained profiler to know that.

"Nothing." Kari whispered, as the tears increased.

Tears appeared in the woman's eyes, as she dragged Kari into a tight hug. Kari rested her head on Emily's chest for a few seconds, before pulling away from the hug.

"Get out."

"Kari…"

"Get out!" She repeated, with more volume, pushing Emily away from her.

"Kari you don't have to push me away, you can trust me."

"NO! I don't even know you."

"Please, tell me what happened to you."

"GET OUT!" she screamed, throwing herself back into the corner, cradling her knees to her chest.

Emily moved towards the door and turned back to look at the broken teenager. _What had happened to this poor girl?_ She thought at first that her behavior towards the family was a result of Haley's rejection of the girls along with the death of her nan. But her reaction to Dave's touch earlier, told her something different. The salty liquid finally escaped her own eyes, as she left the room, closing the door and sliding down it to the floor.

* * *

Aaron and Jack said goodbye to their friends, before coming back into the house. "Jack, can you watch some television for me, while I go upstairs and talk to your sisters?"

"They're not in trouble are they?"

"No, of course not. I just need to talk to them."

The little boy smiled up at his father, before bouncing into the sitting room.

The dark haired man swiftly ran up the staircase, deciding to tackle Melissa first. He entered the girl's room, after quickly knocking.

Melissa stared up at her father, from behind her laptop, with a bland expression, as he entered.

"Melissa, I…"

"Look, Dad." She cut him off. "I'm not going to apologize for not coming down. I've barely been here 5 minutes and I don't want to start meeting new people yet."

"Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't think. I'm just really happy to have you here, and you're right, I did want to show you off to my friends."

The teenager nodded. "I will apologize to Emily, though."

"What? Why?" Aaron was confused, now.

"What? Didn't Emily tell you?" The younger teen questioned, now sharing her father's confused expression.

"Tell me what?"

"I was a bit harsh with her before" She looked down, before continuing. "Well more than a bit, actually."

"Melissa…"

"I'll apologize okay!" she spat.

Aaron kicked off his shoes and climbed onto the bed. Pulling his daughter in to his arms, he pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. "You're a good kid, you know that right?"

The teen snickered, laying her head down on his shoulder. "If you say so." The pair stayed in that comfortable position for a while, before Mel looked up at her father. "Have your friends gone?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I should probably go say sorry to Emily."

Aaron smiled into his daughter's hair, placing another kiss to her head. "Come on then." He pulled her up off of the bed. "Do I want to know what you said to her?"

"It involved the F word." He frowned down at his little girl and opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off, once again. "It won't happen again, I promise. I was just mad."

"Alright." He gave her a small smile.

As the pair exited the bedroom together, they heard the sound of Kari screaming and shouting from her bedroom. Aaron gazed over at Kari's door jumping into action, as he saw his wife emerge, sobbing. She slammed the door shut behind her and lowered herself to the ground, holding her hand over her eyes.

"Emily, what's wrong?" Aaron rushed over to her, quickly followed by Melissa.

The crying brunette removed her face from her hands, gazing up at her concerned husband. She didn't know what to say to him.

He shifted his sight, to the door behind where his broken wife sat. "What did she do?"

"Nothing!" She shouted, hurriedly jumping to the girl's defense. "It's not her fault."

"Really?" The tall man replied, sarcastically. "Then why are you on the floor in tears?"

"No Aaron!" She screamed, as he moved towards Kari's door. "She didn't do anything wrong."

He calmed himself down, crouching down in front of her. He spoke softly to her. "Why are you crying, Em?"

"I don't really know." Emily let out, through her sobs, after a short pause.

"Where's Kari?" Melissa, who had been silent up until this point, enquired.

"She's in her room." Emily replied, looking up at the light haired female.

Melissa didn't move her stare away from the woman on the floor. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know." Emily responded quickly.

"Emily what happened between you two?" Aaron asked, pulling his crying wife up off of the floor.

Emily said nothing, she just sobbed into his chest.

Aaron lost his temper at this point. Nobody, not even his daughter, was going to get away with treating his wife like this. The male flung Kari's door open and strode into the room, dragging Emily with him.

"ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?" He screamed at the teenager across the room, ignoring her tears. "You win! Emily's in tears! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED?"

Kari's tears increased and she started to pant, losing her breath because of all the crying. Aaron, Emily and Melissa, who had now entered the room, watched as Kari tried to push herself impossibly further into the corner.

"NO!" Emily screamed out, when she caught her breath, pushing her husband away from her. "SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!"

Melissa pushed past the pair and strode swiftly towards her sister, climbing onto the bed and pulling her broken sibling into her arms.

Kari continued to cry as her little sister held her tightly. The younger teen glared up at her father and his wife, saying nothing.

"Emily..." Aaron reached for his wife, wanting to hold her, but she pulled out of his touch again.

The raven haired lady ran out of the teenager's room, leaving her startled husband behind.

Aaron Hotchner stared after his wife as she rushed out of his daughter's bedroom, before turning his attention to the teenage girls on the bed. His heart broke as he truly took in his little girl's appearance. He watched as she struggled to catch her breath, as the tears consumed her.

"Kari…" He began to speak softly, but stopped as he watched her jump at the sound of his voice.

"Just get out of here, Dad." Melissa spat, shooting daggers at her father.

Aaron left the room with his eyes on the floor, closing the door behind him.

The male then made his way to the bedroom he shared with his wife of two years. He slowly opened the door and made his way inside the room, to find Emily glaring up at him through teary eyes, from her place on the bed.

"I told you she didn't do anything wrong." She stated firmly.

"I know."

"You should have believed me."

"I know." He repeated, edging closer to the bed.

"You shouldn't have shouted at her like that."

"I know."

"She was so upset." More tears fell from the brunette's eyes.

"I know." Aaron climbed onto the bed and wrapped an arm around Emily. "I'm sorry."

The pair stayed in silence for a while, before Emily looked up at Aaron and offered him a small smile. He returned the smile and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

"Why was Kari so upset?" Aaron asked. "Was it because of what happened with Dave?"

"Partly, I think." She replied. "Honestly, I'm not too sure. I think she was so upset because I was pushing her to talk to me. Kari seems like a really private girl and I think I may have offended her." Emily hated lying to her husband, but she couldn't tell him what she really thought was wrong. Not until she was sure, she was right. She prayed she was wrong.

He nodded. "And why were you crying sweetheart?"

"I just got a little over emotional, when I was talking to Kari and it upset me, that I had upset her and then..."

"And then what?"

Emily took a deep breath. "…And then you started shouting at her and I saw her hurting even more and I felt it was my fault." She finished, honestly.

"No." Aaron told her gently, holding her closer as the tears built up in her eyes again. "That wasn't your fault. I was an idiot and I'm sorry."

"It's not me you need to apologize to."

He nodded again and went to get off the bed, but she stopped him.

"Not now." Emily said. "Later, when she's calmed herself down."

"Okay." He agreed. "Let's go see what Jack's doing."

* * *

Melissa Hotchner held her sister tightly, as the older girl cried into her chest. She didn't know how long they stayed like this, before Kari's tears dried up and she glanced up at her younger sister.

"Hey you." Melissa said happily, unsure of what else to say.

"Hey." Kari let out, croakily.

"What was all that about?" She asked softly.

Kari sighed quietly as she thought back through the events. "Dad's friend tried to hug me."

"That's it?" Melissa questioned, raising her eyebrows at her sister.

"It reminded me of Michael." Kari practically whispered, immediately noticing the realization in her sibling's eyes.

"Oh." Melissa thought for a moment. "You didn't tell _her, _did you?"

"Emily? No." The darker haired girl shook her head. "I nearly did though. She was asking me loads of questions and I didn't know what to say."

"Don't tell her." Melissa said harshly. "She won't understand. She doesn't care about us anyway, she only pretends to, to please Dad."

"I know." Kari agreed, staring into the wall. "I won't tell her."

"Why was she crying anyway?"

"I screamed at her. I think she was hoping we'd all just play happy families when we moved here."

"I can't believe Dad shouted at you like that." Mel added, not noticing the way Kari became more uneasy at the thought. "He took _her_ side even though you were more upset than she was. His own daughter."

"Mel." Kari tried not to sound upset as she spoke to her sister. "I'm going to try and get some sleep, okay."

"Okay." Melissa pressed a kiss to her sister's head before getting up off of the bed, heading for the door and exiting the room.

* * *

Hey, so this was going to be three separate chapters, but I got carried away writing and decided to keep it all as one chapter. I'd love to hear what you think of it.

Thank you again to everyone still reading this, I am kinda shocked by the number of people who have added this to alert. Special thanks to **lizzabet**, **Pheonix1995**, **Sapphiredark**, **HPforever-after** and **hxchick**, for your reviews.


	9. Chapter 9

Once outside of the bedroom, Melissa debated whether to go in her room and read or go downstairs and get something to eat. She was really hungry, but she didn't know if she could face her Dad and his wife right now, without making things worse.

She could smell spaghetti cooking downstairs and that was all it took to drag her down the steps and into the kitchen, were her little brother sat smiling at her from the table.

"Mellie." He greeted, happily. "We're having spaghetti tonight."

"So I gathered." The teenager chuckled to the boy, making her way to the table, ignoring the two adults by the oven, as she passed them.

"Shall I go tell Kari?" Jack asked excitedly.

"No." Melissa almost shouted, as the little boy jumped up from his seat. "She's sleeping."

"Okay." He sat back down.

Melissa and Jack chatted during the meal. Aaron and Emily stayed quiet, knowing that the teen was angry with them both. They didn't want to have another argument, especially not in front of Jack.

After dinner, Emily and Aaron cleaned up, while Jack and Melissa went into the front room to watch some television.

"Maybe we should make something for Kari." Emily suggested, after she'd dried the last plate. "She hasn't eaten anything since breakfast."

"I think she'll come down when she's ready, Em." Aaron told her. "Let's not push her."

Emily nodded and then the pair made their way into the front room, to join Melissa and Jack.

When they entered the front room, they were surprised to find only Melissa sat watching television.

"Where's Jack?" Emily asked uneasily, unsure if it was wise to try and talk to the young girl yet.

Her suspicion was right. Melissa's eyes shot up and she glared daggers at the elder brunette. She said nothing, ignoring her stepmother's question, she just continued to stare her out.

"Melissa." Aaron spoke firmly, but not harshly. "Emily just asked you a question."

"Bite me." The teen spat.

"Melissa Hotchner, you're out of order."

"NO DAD! YOU'RE OUT OF ORDER." Mel screamed. "Your daughter was crying her eyes out upstairs because of your stupid wife and instead of comforting her and making it better, like a real father would do, you blamed her and hurt her even more." Tears were streaming down the teenagers face by the time she had finished her rant. "Why don't you care about us anymore?"

"Mel…"

"Save it Aaron! You're just like Haley, you meet someone new and forget that you have kids." With that said, the weeping girl ran out of the room, past Jack who was standing in the hallway, and up to her bedroom.

Both Aaron and Emily had watery eyes, as a sad and confused looking Jack entered the room. "Daddy, what's wrong?" The young boy squeezed himself in the small space between the two adults on the couch. "Why is Mellie crying?"

The elder male held his son into his side, hugging him tightly as a single tear ran down his cheek. "It's okay Jack, I'm gonna make it okay." He kissed the top of the little boy's head. "Will you look after Emily for me, while I go and see if Mel's okay?"

The youngster nodded and held his arms out to Emily, who couldn't help but grin at him and pull him into a hug. The female brunette began to wiggle her fingers across the boy's tummy, earning bursts of laughter from him.

Aaron offered his wife a small soft smile as he stood and made his way out of the room. As the male reached the top of the stairs, he took in a deep breath, before slowly opening his youngest daughter's bedroom door.

He stepped inside the dark room and flicked the light switch. He knew that Mel wasn't sleeping because he could hear the sound of her sobs as he entered the bedroom.

As the room lit up, Aaron gazed over at his little girl. She lay face down in the middle of her double bed, crying into her pillow. Without a word he moved over to the bed and climbed on next to her, pulling her into his arms.

Although she tried to fight him off with her fists at first, it wasn't long before Melissa gave up and let her father hold her as she sobbed loudly into his chest.

Aaron held his middle child until the tears dried out, gently shushing her and tracing patterns on her back.

When she finally settled, Aaron whispered quietly in her ear. "I love you so much Melissa and it hurts me, to think that you don't think I care about you. I care sooo much."

"I know Daddy." She croaked out. "I'm sorry." The tears began to well up again.

"Shhh baby, it's okay." The male kissed the top of his daughter's head as he pulled her in tight. "I just need you to know how much I care about you and Kari and Jack too." He sighed quietly. "Just because I love and care about Emily, doesn't mean I love and care about the three of you any less."

The teenager nodded understandingly, gazing at her father threw tired teary eyes. "I'm so sorry, please don't hate me." She pleaded.

"Melissa, I could never hate you." He assured her.

"Why does _she _hate me?" Mel spluttered out, shyly.

"Emily doesn't hate you Baby, she…"

"Not her!" The teen sobbed some more. "Haley."

"Oh. I don't know Princess. Haley's not the woman I once married." He answered as honestly as he could. "She's changed."

"Because of _him_." She spat.

"Maybe. Probably." He told her. "But you don't have to worry. I'm not going to change. Emily's not going to change me."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"And I promise to try and be nicer to your wif… to Emily." She offered a smile, before pulling away from him and pressing her head into the pillow, closing her eyes.

"I also promise that I'm not going to try and force you to meet any of my friends until you're ready." Aaron added. "But you do need to start trusting people a little bit more; the whole worlds not out to get you. You're safe here."

Mel nodded into her pillow. "Night Dad."

"Goodnight Mellie." Aaron placed one more kiss to his daughter's head, before getting off of the bed and exiting the room, turning out the light and shutting the door as he left.

The male profiler was about to make his way downstairs, when his eyes fell upon the bedroom door of his older daughter. He slowly made his way towards the wooden barrier, before gently twisting the handle and carefully pushing the door open.

He cautiously entered the room and moved over to the open drapes, closing them, all the time keeping his gaze on his sleeping daughter, curled up in the corner of her bed, her arms still hugging her jean clad legs as she slept. After making his way to the bed, Aaron pulled the half of the quilt that she wasn't sleeping on over her, sandwiching her in.

"Goodnight Kari." He whispered softly, before leaving the room.

Making his way down stairs, he prayed that his eldest would forgive him in the morning.

* * *

Thanks to everyone still reading. Special thanks to **lizzabet**, **Pheonix1995** and **HPforever-after** for reviewing. I will try to update again soon.


	10. Chapter 10

Sunday morning Aaron and Emily got up and showered, before heading downstairs. They joined Jack, who was in the front room watching some cartoons, for a bit before heading into the kitchen to get some breakfast.

The young boy joined them in the kitchen and asked for some cereal. As the three sat down to eat their cereal, Melissa came into the room.

"Mel." Jack greeted cheerfully, as the teen entered the kitchen.

"Morning." She replied.

"Would you like me to get you some cereal?" Emily asked the teenager, standing up and gesturing to the box on the side.

"I can get it myself." Melissa spat. "I'm not five."

"Melissa." Aaron warned, firmly.

At her father's tone, Mel thought back to the promise she had made last night. "Sorry."

"That's okay, honey." Emily assured her, reclaiming her seat at the table.

As Melissa was pouring her cereal, her mind started to wander. She couldn't explain to herself why she disliked Emily so much. The woman could make her mad by simply looking at her. Even if she was trying to steal their Dad, Melissa knew that he wouldn't send them away like Haley had.

Upon joining her family at the table, the girl watched the way Jack looked at Emily. He really loved her. That angered her more as the idea of Emily letting Jack down entered her mind.

"Daddy?" Jack called out, pulling Melissa from her thoughts. "Can I take Melissa and Kari to the park today?"

"I don't know Buddy." Aaron told him. "Melissa and Kari might not want to go to the park today."

"I'll go." Melissa jumped in, earning a huge grin from her eight year old brother.

"I'll ask Kari after breakfast." He said, before speeding up his eating rhythm.

Before Jack had swallowed his last spoonful of cereal, he was out of his chair with his bowl in his hands. The youngster placed the bowl in the sink, before dashing out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

He knocked softly on his big sister's door. When there was no sound from the other side, he carefully opened the door and took a few steps into the room. "Kari." He whispered, approaching the bed.

Once next to the bed, Jack could see that his sister's eyes were closed.

He cautiously made his way out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him, not noticing Kari's eyes flicker open, to check he was leaving or the sigh of relief she let out, when the door shut.

The boy scuttled off downstairs and back into the kitchen. "She's still sleeping." He announced with a surprised tone. "Should I wake her up?"

"No, let her sleep." Aaron told his son.

"But it's nearly 10.30."

"I know, but she's still adjusting to the time difference." He assured the little boy, ruffling his hair.

"Okay." He flashed the famous Hotchner dimples. "You ready to go, Mel?"

"Gimme a minute and I'll meet you in the hall." She replied, bouncing off upstairs.

A few minutes later Melissa returned and the pair left for the park.

Once at the park, Melissa and Jack rushed over to the swings. No other kids were at the park so they had the run of the place.

After a short while, a group of young boys between the ages of about 9 and 12 arrived at the park and invited Jack to play soccer on the field with them.

Melissa sat on a bench nearby, smiling happily as she watched her little brother playing. Her and Kari always used to play soccer at the park when they were Jack's age. The teen inwardly chuckled to herself, remembering how simple life seemed back when she was eight.

"Hello." Melissa was dragged away from her thoughts by the sound of a deep masculine voice behind her.

The teenager turned her head and found a sandy haired man, looked to be in his late twenty's stood behind the bench. "Hi." She said back shyly.

"Do you mind if I sit down?"

Melissa started to panic at that question. What did he want from her? Her eyes searched the older man's face as she thought about running. She then turned her attention to the area around her. She could scream for help. More people had arrived at the park now and there were a couple of parents sat on a bench not too far away. Surely they'd help her.

Her eyes caught on to the man's gaze again, when her father's word from last night replayed in her head. _'But you do need to start trusting people a little bit more; the whole worlds not out to get you. You're safe here.'_

Maybe this man just wanted to sit down. Maybe he was lonely and just wanted someone to talk to. Besides it's not like he'd try anything in a crowded park.

Melissa opened her mouth to speak, but the unknown male spoke first.

"Sorry if I've scared you." He'd obviously noticed the teenager's worry. "I'll find somewhere else to sit."

"No." Melissa almost shouted. "You can sit here, if you want to."

He offered her a smile, lowering himself on to the bench next to her with a slight sigh. "Thank you."

"That's okay." Mel smiled back, before returning her line of vision to the soccor field, spotting Jack still playing happily with his friends.

"I'm Adam, by the way." He held a hand out towards the teen.

Melissa stared uneasily at the hand he extended, before cautiously reaching her own hand out and shaking Adam's softly. "Nice to meet you."

"Are you not gonna tell me your name?" He inquired with a little chuckle. Melissa thought about that for a minute. She could tell him her first name, couldn't she? "You don't have to, if you don't want to. I understand. Strange man at the park an' all."

She flashed a shy smile.

"Besides I've always been good at guessing names." He said with mock pride, before over exaggerating a 'thinking face'. "Hannah?" She shook her head no. "Phoebe?" Another no. "Chloe?" Her head shook again. "Hmmmm, Emily?"

"No." Melissa spoke, scrunching her face up, her eyes narrowing some.

"Okay, so your name's not Emily, but I'm guessing from your reaction that somebody who you really hate is called Emily. Am I right?" Adam leaned back, placing his elbow on the back of the bench and resting his cheek in his hand.

"I wouldn't say I hate her." Melissa answered honestly, "But I don't like her much."

"School bully?"

She shook her head again, giggling softly. "Step-mom."

"Ooooo." Adam cringed slightly. "You wanna talk about it?"

"I really don't." She smiled up at him.

"Okay." Adam stared into her eyes for a moment, causing the teen's cheeks to redden ever so slightly. There was a long pause before he spoke again. "Katy?"

"No." She grinned, shaking her head in amusement. "My name's Melissa and you know what, you lied. You suck at guessing people's names."

Adam's face showed fake hurt, earning another giggle from the girl.

She quickly glanced out at the field, making sure Jack was okay, before turning back to her new friend.

"So tell me Melissa, what is a pretty young lady such as yourself, doing alone at the park on a weekend?"

"I'm not alone." She told him, blushing a little at his flattering words. "I'm here with my little brother, Jack." She gestured to the field where the boy's were playing soccer.

"Oh I see," He glimpsed at the grassy area. "Which one is he?"

"The one over there." Melissa pointed him out. "In the red shirt."

"Aw, he's adorable."

"I know." Melissa grinned at that. "So Adam, what are you doing here all alone?"

Adam laughed at the way she threw his question back at him, before his features saddened. "I was looking for my dog."

"Your dog?"

"Yeah, my dog… Simba." Adam gave her a sad smile. "He's been missing for a couple of weeks, I come out to the park a lot to look for him."

"I'm sorry." Melissa told him, reaching her hand out and gripping his shoulder. Adam brought his own hand up and placed it over hers. "Have you put reward posters up?"

"No I haven't, but that's a very good idea." He told her with a smile, releasing her hand. "You're a very smart young lady, you know that."

"Whatever." Melissa turned her head away, embarrassed by the man's flattery. "Me and my sister had a cat once, he didn't come back home for a couple of days so we put rewards posters up and someone brought him home about a week later."

"You have a sister?" Adam questioned.

"Yeah."

"Older or younger?"

"Older." Melissa replied, a hint of jealousy in her tone. "Only 11 months older though."

"What's her name?"

"You're the name guesser." She chuckled quietly. "You tell me."

Adam laughed loudly. "I think we've already established I'm off my game today."

"Her name's Kari."

Adam nodded to himself as if in deep thought. "Well Melissa, I'd best get going."

Mel's face sunk ever so slightly at his comment. She was enjoying talking to Adam. "Oh, okay."

"Okay Melissa." Adam stood, moving in front of the young girl, before taking hold of her hand and bringing it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to it. "It was lovely meeting you. Hopefully I'll see you again soon." He told her, lighting up her face some.

"I'd like that." Melissa replied honestly. "I'll probably be at the park a lot over the next few weeks, saves being in the house with _Emily._"

Adam chuckled at that. "Bring your sister too. I bet she could do with a break from the 'Devil Lady'."

"I will." She nodded. "And I'll keep an eye out for Simba. What does he look like?"

"What does he look like?" Adam repeated her question to himself. "He's err, cream colored and err… a Labrador. He's a Labrador."

"Okay, I'll look out for him."

"Thank you Melissa. I'll see you soon." He winked at her, before turning and walking away.

Melissa smiled as she watched him leave. She didn't normally make friends easily and Adam seemed really fun and he was so easy to talk to, not to mention he was kind of cute. So what if he was ten or fifteen years older than her, he was really nice.

It wasn't long before the teenager's thoughts were interrupted, as Jack had finished playing and came running over to her.

"I'm hungry Mel." He announced, flopping down onto the bench next to her.

"Okay, let's go home."

With that said the pair headed back to their home. On the way back they chatted about some of the new friends Jack had made at the park, before he asked a question that brought her to a halt.

"Who was that man you were talking to?"

"Man?" Melissa exclaimed, trying to sound innocent. "Oh _that_ man. He'd lost his dog, wondered if I'd seen it. He sat down for a bit to rest and told me what it looked like, but I couldn't help him so he left." She lied. "I don't even know what his name is."

"Oh." Jack gave his sister a smile. "Okay."

Melissa hated lying to her little brother, but she couldn't risk her Dad finding out she had a male friend who was possibly twice her age. He wouldn't understand. Although he was the one who had told her she needed to start trusting people more, Aaron Hotchner was never known for being good at taking his own advice.

* * *

Okay so I'd love to hear what you think of Adam. Next chapter is a Kari/Emily/Aaron based one although Jack and Melissa will still be in it, most of it will take place while they are at the park.

Special thanks to **Pheonix1995**, **HPforever-after**, **lizzabet** and **hippychick1235** for you reviews. Will try to update again soon.


	11. Chapter 11

Aaron and Emily cleared up the breakfast bowls and washed up after Melissa and Jack left for the park. They flopped down in the front room for about ten minutes, before Aaron announced that he needed to go and talk to Kari.

The male profiler slowly made his way up the staircase, thinking over in his head what he was going to say to his daughter.

He extended his hand as he reached her door and knocked softly. He waited to be invited inside, but when there was no answer he twisted the handle and pushed the door open, before carefully making his way inside.

His eyes fell upon his eldest, who lay facing away from the door with no quilt over her, still in the clothes she had worn the day before.

"Morning Kari." He let out quietly, unsure how to start up this conversation. He frowned slightly when he got no response from the girl.

Aaron moved over to the bed and lowered himself down onto the corner, his gaze not leaving Kari as he did so.

"It's pretty late to still be in bed." He told her with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Plus you haven't had anything to eat or drink in over twenty-four hours."

Still the dark haired teen said nothing.

"Kari, you need to eat." He told her, trying not to sound to demanding. "How about I make you some cheese sandwiches?"

Still nothing.

"You can eat them in your room if you want." Although he felt sorry for his daughter, Aaron was starting to get a little annoyed at her lack of response. "Kari, please talk to me."

He let out a sigh as he lowered himself back onto the bed, lying down next to her.

"Look at me Baby."

No reply once again.

"I hope you're not pretending to be asleep." He said with a soft laugh. "You may have been able to fool Jack, but you won't fool me."

No movement. No sound. Nothing.

"Kari, please…" Aaron reached out his hand and pulled on her arm, to get her to turn over and face him.

"Get off me!" Kari ripped her arm away from her father's grip. "Just leave me alone."

"You need to eat." He told her softly.

"No."

"You need to drink something at least." His voice hardened slightly.

"No."

"Kari, you're being unreasonable." He practically shouted.

"No."

"Kari…"

"No."

"Fine!" Aaron leapt up off of the bed and stormed out of the room, stopping just outside the door. "Starve." He called into the room, before slamming the door shut.

The male immediately regretted the way his apology had gone down. In fact, it wasn't until he was half way down the stairs that he realized; he hadn't even said he was sorry.

He made his way into the front room, where Emily was sat watching television. She looked up at him apprehensively, hoping the father and daughter had built bridges. The look on her husband's face told her that they had not.

He dropped down next her on the couch, wrapping an arm around her. "That didn't go too well."

"I'm sorry, Honey." Emily told him, offering a comforting smile.

"She won't eat or drink anything." He let out. "She won't even talk to me or look at me."

"Do you want me to try?" Emily asked, wanting to help.

"Why?" He scoffed at her offer. "You think you know my own daughter better than I do?"

"No." She showed him a look of disgust. "Of course not, I just… I'm just trying to help."

"I know." Aaron inwardly beat himself for lashing out at Emily. "I'm sorry Em." He pulled her closer. "Maybe a feminine touch might be a good idea."

She nodded and placed a kiss to her husband's lips, before standing and making her way into the kitchen. After grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, the brunette made her way upstairs and knocked on Kari's door.

"Kari?" Emily called from the hallway. "Can I come in?"

There was no answer, so she cautiously opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind her.

"Kari, are you okay?" The older woman moved over to the bed and climbed on, careful not to get to close to the teen. "I brought you some water." The pair remained in silence for a short while before Emily spoke again. "I'm sorry."

Kari's ears perked up at her step-mom's words. She didn't turn to face her or say anything in response, but she waited to see what the woman would say next.

"I'm sorry I pushed you into trying to talk to me." Emily continued. "I'm sorry I upset you." The woman let out a sigh. "I'm sorry your Dad shouted at you."

"Don't" Kari spat, not turning to look at the older female. "Don't apologize for him."

Emily nodded to herself, before holding the bottle of water out over the youngster. "Do you want some water?"

The teenager gripped the bottle, before opening it and taking a small sip. "Thank you."

"You're welcome Sweet…" She quickly stopped herself from finishing the word. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Kari took a second drink from the water bottle, a much bigger swig this time. After that it didn't take long before Kari had finished the drink.

"Would you like me to get you another one?" The teen shook her head, no. "How about something to eat?" She shook her head again. "I'll make you anything you want?" Another no. "Okay."

A few seconds passed, before Emily reached out her hand, cautiously bringing it down to the top of the girl's head. When the teenager didn't protest, Emily gently started to graze her fingers over her hair, remembering the effect this movement had had yesterday.

She didn't know how long she stayed in this position, stroking Kari's hair, but eventually she heard the heavy breathing of the girl, telling her she was asleep. Emily carefully climbed off the bed and quietly left the room.

She made her way down to the kitchen were Aaron stood making lunch for Melissa and Jack who had now returned from the park.

He raised his eyebrows questioningly, silently asking how she got on. Emily gave a half smile, letting him know she'd made progress, but not as much as she'd hoped for.

* * *

Thank you once again to everyone reading this. Special thanks to everybody taking the time to review this story and to all the people who have added this to favorite or alert. Your support really means a lot to me. I will try to update again soon.


	12. Chapter 12

Later that evening, after they had eaten their dinner, Aaron, Emily, Melissa and Jack were all sat in the front room. The adults were sat up on the couches with the television on, while Mel and Jack sat on the floor continuing to build the Lego house, which at this rate was going to be the size of their real house by the time they were finished.

Emily watched the kids playing, spotting the same characteristics in Melissa that she had in Kari the other day. This teenager also had a playful side to her when she was with Jack. What was different in this sibling relationship was the way Melissa looked out for Kari, as if she was the older of the two, when in fact it should be the other way round.

Emily's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of movement coming from the hallway. She turned to face the doorway. Aaron noticed his wife's movements and followed her line of vision.

The pair were staring into the gap as Kari came into view, now dressed in her pajamas. The teen looked very pale and wobbly as she clung to the frame of the door.

"Kari Baby, are you okay?" Aaron asked from his place on the couch, leaning forward, ready to stand up.

Kari didn't look over at her father, she was still mad at him. "I… I feel sick."

"That's because you haven't eaten, Honey." He told her, standing and moving towards his daughter. He stopped in his tracks at the glare his little girl fired at him.

"You don't know that." She spat back at him.

Aaron sighed. He knew he had only himself to blame for his daughter's anger towards him, but he just needed her to eat something. They could sort out their differences later. He turned to his wife, silently asking for her assistance.

Emily slowly stood and came in front of the eldest teen. "Kari, please let me make you something to eat." Her eyes were pleading with the girl. "I'll make you anything you want, but please. You have to eat something."

"I don't _have_ to do anything." The teenager informed her, casting a sideways glance at her father.

"Kari, I know that I can't force you to do anything." Emily spoke softly. "But you haven't eaten in over 32 hours and if you don't eat now you're going to get really ill. Please, eat something."

Kari didn't say anything, but she turned and made her way into the kitchen; Emily following close behind her.

Aaron let out a sigh of relief as his daughter headed to the kitchen, before turning to his two younger children, who had just witnessed the little spectacle. Jack was looking up at him, obviously confused.

Melissa, however, was glaring at the spot her sister had just vacated. She too looked confused, but she also appeared angry.

As Emily and Kari entered the kitchen, Kari started to feel a bit dizzy. She staggered some, but Emily quickly grabbed hold of her and pulled her over to the kitchen table.

"Sit here." The older woman ran over to the sink and grabbed a glass from the cupboard above it, filling it with water before passing it to the teen. "Drink this. It's water."

Kari slowly sipped at the drink, while Emily cautiously moved her hand over Kari's back, gently soothing the girl.

"So what do you want to eat?" Emily asked when Kari had finished about half of her water.

The teenager shrugged.

"How about cheese?"

She shook her head and Emily sighed.

Kari glanced up at Emily, she had to admit she looked genuinely worried. But Kari couldn't understand why. Emily caught on to the youngster's stare and cast a half smile in her direction, before showing her a pleading gesture.

For reasons which she couldn't explain, the teen felt bad. Her eyes searched the kitchen and she spotted the toaster in the corner, before glimpsing back up at Emily. "Can I have some toast please?" Kari inquired, like a small child.

"Of course." The brunette woman grinned at Kari, before dashing across the kitchen like something out of a cartoon and firing four rounds of bread in the toaster.

In not much time at all, Emily presented her with the buttered toast on a plate.

"Thank you." The girl whispered, reaching for her first piece of toast.

"You're welcome, Honey." Emily took the seat opposite Kari at the table and waited while she ate her food.

The teen finished her first piece before casting a glance up at the woman before her. "You don't have to stay with me. You can go back to the others if you want."

"I think I'm okay here for now." Emily assured her. "Unless… you want me to leave you alone?"

Kari shook her head, no.

After the teenager finished her toast and water, she carefully stood up still feeling a little dizzy.

"Do you feel any better?" The women stood and moved the plate and glass to the sink, before returning to the girl. After she didn't respond, Emily spoke again. "Kari, are you okay?"

The teen's brown eyes flickered up and caught onto Emily's. "Yeah I'm okay." She replied. "I still feel a little off, but I definitely feel better."

"Good." Emily wrapped an arm around the youngster, leading her out of the room.

Kari allowed the older woman to lead her out of the kitchen and into the family room, even though she had originally planned to go back up to her bedroom.

The pair entered the room to find Aaron sat on the floor with his two youngest, helping them with the Lego palace.

All three looked up as the two females came into view.

Melissa glared at the way Emily had her arm around her sister. What was she playing at? And why wasn't Kari pushing her away?

Emily caught onto Melissa's gaze as the young girl shot daggers at her. For a moment she was genuinely scared of this girl.

The younger teen jumped up off the floor. "I'm going to bed." She spat, pushing past Emily and out of the room, before disappearing upstairs.

Aaron sighed as he watched his daughter leave, before offering his wife and his eldest child a small smile. "How are you feeling now, Kari?"

"I'm fine." She muttered, not looking at her father as she moved away from Emily and flopped down on the three-seater couch.

Emily took the seat next to her and the pair watched TV, while Aaron and Jack continued the construction.

Suddenly the door bell rang and Aaron jumped up off of the floor. "Who the hell is that?" He asked, more to himself than anyone else. "It's eight o'clock in the evening." The male marched off to answer the front door, surprised to find Dave on the other side. "Dave, what can I do for you?"

"Sorry to drop in so late." Dave told him, as Aaron stepped aside to let the older male into the house. "Henry thinks he left his favorite jacket here yesterday and is insisting that we get it back." He explained with a light sigh. "We were just on the way back from JJ's brother's and I told him I'd stop by quickly. I hope we haven't disturbed you."

"No, of course not."

Aaron led his friend into the family room, not noticing the way Kari tensed up as the older male entered.

Emily however, did notice this. "You okay, honey?" She whispered in her ear.

"Yeah." the girl replied, almost inaudibly, but Emily heard her.

"Have you three seen Henry's jacket lying around?" Aaron asked them.

"No, I haven't sorry." Emily responded. Kari shook her head, not taking her eyes off Dave.

"No." Jack added.

"Okay, I'll go check in Jack's bedroom. Em, can you go look in the kitchen?" Aaron asked.

"Sure." she replied, as her husband left the room.

Emily moved to stand up, but was stopped when a hand gripped hold of her arm. "No, please don't leave me alone." Kari begged, with a scared tone.

"Okay honey." She pulled the girl tightly into her side, looking up at Dave, giving him an apologetic look, before turning to Jack. "Jack, can you go check if Henry's jacket is in the kitchen please."

"Okay." The little boy got up and grinned at Dave, before running off into the kitchen.

After Jack had left the room, David Rossi slowly moved over to the pair on the couch and crouched down in front of them. "Kari, I just wanted to apologize for what happened earlier. I'm sorry if I scared you."

There was a pause before Dave continued.

"I didn't mean to scare you." He gave Kari a small smile. "I'm really sorry."

Kari stared into Dave's eyes, feeling guilty herself, for the way she overreacted. "You didn't do anything wrong." She let out, after a long pause.

"I made you feel uncomfortable and for that I'm sorry."

Kari rested her head on Emily's shoulder, keeping eye contact with Dave. "It's okay."

"Got it." Aaron announced, entering the room with the little boy's jacket, interrupting the conversation.

"Thanks." Dave stood up straight and took the item of clothing off of the younger man.

Jack entered the room at this point. "It's not in the kitchen."

"That's okay Buddy, we got it." Dave told him. "Sorry again for barging in so late, I'll let you get back to your evening."

"You're welcome here anytime Dave, you know that." Emily assured him.

He smiled and nodded at that, before saying his goodbyes to the family and leaving.

* * *

So I am spending my day off (which I have been given to prepare for my big presentation tomorrow) writing fanfiction. (My boss is gonna fucking kill me) ;-). This chapter was going to be twice as long as this, but it dragged on a bit, so I've cut it in half. I have nearly finished writing the next one though, so I should have it finished and up today (After I've read up on my presentation of course.)

Thanks to everyone still supporting this – you all rock!


	13. Chapter 13

This is my second update today so please make sure you've read chapter twelve first, if you haven't already.

* * *

Very little time had passed since Dave's departure, before Jack was yawning and could barely keep his eyes open. Aaron took him up to bed and the returned to the living room, where his eyes fell upon his eldest.

He caught Emily's gaze, as he sat down on the adjacent couch to his wife and daughter, and silently asked her for some alone time with his little girl.

She gave a soft nod, before standing and heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Kari asked, her voice a tad panicky.

"Err… to the bathroom." Emily answered, not in the most convincing manner, she had to admit.

The teenager stood, not wanting to stay alone in a room with the man she could barely look at. "Okay, I'm going to bed."

"Kari." Her father called, as she neared the doorway. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"No." She stated simply, trying to leave, but Emily stood in her way.

"Please Baby." Aaron pleaded. "I just want to apologize."

The teen let out a long sigh, before dropping back down onto the sofa. "I'm listening."

Emily smiled to herself, leaving the room.

"Kari, you know that I love you don't you?" Aaron began.

The girl rolled her eyes at that. "No."

"Well I do." He told her simply. "More than you'd think possible."

Kari didn't respond to that, she just kept her gaze on the carpeted floor.

He sighed, knowing what she needed to hear. "I'm sorry. I _never_ should have shouted at you the way I did. I was angry because Emily was upset and I released that anger on someone who didn't deserve it."

There was a long pause, before Kari spoke. "I was upset too." Her voice was weak; although she wasn't crying, it sounded like the tears wear building up.

"I know Honey." He breathed out. "I wasn't thinking straight. I saw Emily crying outside your door and I jumped to conclusions. I know it was wrong and I wish I could take it back, but I can't. Have you never been so angry, that you take your anger out on the wrong person?"

Kari thought about that for a moment; he had a point there. There had been many a time that Kari had taken her anger out on Melissa for something that wasn't her fault. The teenager dragged her gaze up to meet her father's, seeing the sorrow in his eyes.

"You know, I was so proud of you yesterday." He continued as her stared flickered up to his. "Coming down to meet my friends, even though I know you didn't want to. That's my brave little girl."

The teen's lips twitched up a little at that.

"I'm so sorry Kari." He spoke again. "Can you forgive me?"

Silence for a moment, before she answered him. "I need you to answer something first."

"Okay."

"Why…" A tear escaped her dark brown eyes as she began her question. "Why did you let her send us away?" The tears increased, as she waited for an answer. When he didn't respond she continued. "You could have stopped her. Why didn't you take her to court? You were a lawyer, for god's sake. You didn't even try to fight for us." Tears consumed her as she came to the end of her rant. "Why, Dad?"

Aaron watched as his daughter once again fought for control of her breathing, pulling her knees into her chest. "I trusted her."

"Oh, great answer, Aaron." Kari spat sarcastically, choking on his name as she continued to sob. "Someone tells you they're sending your daughters to another country and all you have to say is 'okay, I trust you'."

"I was still in love with her." He answered honestly. "Haley was always a master manipulator. Of course, I argued with her at first. When she first told me what she was planning to do, I told her it was never going to happen." He paused for a breath. "But she convinced me that it was the best thing for you. She made me believe that England was where you needed to be and it would be a better life for you."

"She lied." Kari told him.

"I know that now." He sighed. "But I wanted you and your sister to have the best possible life and Haley had managed to convince me that sending you to England was the way for that to happen. If I could go back, I'd never let you go. Haley… she knew I still loved her and she used that fact against me."

"Yeah, she is a bitch." The teen voiced, her tone softening slightly.

Aaron's first thought was to warn his daughter for cussing, but he knew that wouldn't help things right now. Plus she did have a point. "Yes, she is." The male moved over to the couch were Kari sat and dropped down next to her. He took her hand in his, inwardly cheering when she didn't pull away from him. "I'm so sorry, Kari. I will never let anyone take you away from me again."

They stayed silent for a moment, before Kari spoke quietly. "Ask me again."

Aaron had to think for a moment; what was he supposed to ask her. Then it hit him. "Can you forgive me?"

She nodded, "Yes."

Aaron Hotchner wasted no time whatsoever pulling his eldest daughter into his arms. He held her tightly, as she wrapped her arms around him.

The girl placed her lips next to her father's ear as she whispered. "I thought you were never going to do this."

"Do what, Baby?" He asked, pulling back ever so slightly to see her face.

"Hug me." Kari decided while they were being honest with each other, now a good time to let him know how she'd been feeling. "When we arrived at the airport, I was so excited to see you again. Jack came running up to me and I was so happy. I saw you hug Melissa and it was like we were a family again. But then you turned to me and I was waiting for you to hug me too, but you didn't. You said 'Good to see you again' like I was some long distance relative that you hated, but felt like you had to be nice to. It killed me."

Kari tugged her gaze away from the spot on the wall she had been glaring at and looked at her father. Her heart shattered as she took in the look on his face. She'd never seen her Dad look so broken and… helpless. The tears streaked down his cheeks, falling from his bloodshot eyes. She couldn't stand the look he gave her. "I'm sorry Daddy. I didn't want to make you cry; I never should have told you that. I wanted you to know how I felt, but I didn't mean to hurt you." She rushed to apologize. "I'm so sorry…"

"Hey." He cut her off. "Don't you ever apologize for telling me how you feel." He took a deep breath. "I didn't even realize that I didn't hug you at the airport, but I do know why I didn't and it's no excuse, but I want you to know why." She nodded and he continued. "When I was saying goodbye to you, the last time we were at that airport when you left for England, I tried to hug you and you pushed me away."

"I was angry. I didn't want to go." She defended.

"I know." He pulled Kari into him, holding her head to his chest. "I didn't do it on purpose, but I guess subconsciously I didn't want to hug you in case you pushed me away again. I'm sorry that I hurt you."

"Back at ya."

Aaron lay down on his side with his back to the back of the couch, pulling Kari down with him. He kept an arm over her pulling her in tight, pressing her back against his chest. They lay like this in silence for a while, before Aaron spoke. "You hid it well."

"What?" Kari breathed out sleepily.

"At the airport, when I hurt you." He explained. "You hid your pain well, a little too well. You didn't show that it bothered you and I read people for a living."

She thought about that for a minute. "I guess I just compartmentalize better than most people."

Aaron couldn't help but chuckle at that. He remembered Emily saying the same thing to him and JJ a few years ago, almost word for word.

"What are you laughing at?"

"It doesn't matter." He realized there and then just how similar his wife and eldest child were.

Emily cautiously made her way downstairs and into the family room. She couldn't hear any arguing so she assumed it had gone well. She couldn't stop the grin from spreading across her face as she witnessed Aaron out like a light on the couch, with his sleeping daughter in his arms. She quickly ran upstairs and pulled Kari's quilt off the girl's bed, before taking it to them and covering them up. She turned off the television; then made her way to bed.


	14. Chapter 14

Aaron woke up to find himself alone on the couch he had fallen asleep on, with Kari's quilt slung over him, keeping him snug. The television was on, showing a TV show he didn't recognize. He slowly sat up straight and noticed the young girl he'd fallen asleep with was sat on the other couch, wide awake watching the television.

"Hey." Aaron called, staring over at the teenager, through sleepy eyes "Are you feeling alright, Honey?"

"I feel good." Kari replied, in a neutral tone, not taking her eyes off the screen.

"Good, that's great." The man managed to get out, before a large yawn escaped his lips. "What time is it?"

"1.46" The dark haired teen finally dragged her gaze away from the television and looked over at her Dad. "Sorry if I woke you."

"That's okay." Aaron was now feeling less sleepy and more alert. He quickly noticed that the girl was in her usual position, knees cradled to her chest. "What are you watching?"

"Dharma and Greg." She replied

"Cool." He said, as an idea popped into his head. "Shall I make us some popcorn?"

Kari didn't answer her father; she just stared over at him with a confused expression. "You're strange."

"Why?" Now Aaron was the confused one. "Wanting popcorn with a movie is strange?"

"No." The girl snickered, quietly. "I've been waiting for you to send me to bed, since you woke up. But you haven't. Instead you're offering to make popcorn at nearly two o'clock in the morning. That's strange."

"Okay, I'm strange, I admit it. Can we make popcorn now?" The male pleaded, with a childish grin playing on his features, causing Kari to giggle slightly. "Please."

Kari couldn't help but beam back at him, nodding, before pausing the DVD and bouncing up off the couch. "Okay." The girl chuckled, softly. "You know, an outsider would really struggle to tell which one of us is the kid."

The two made their way into the kitchen and took the packets of popcorn out of the cupboard. After they'd popped a few bags, they tipped the popcorn into one big bowl, before Kari took it back into the family room.

Aaron followed behind her, after grabbing a couple of cans of soda out of the fridge.

"Coca cola?" The teenager inquired, a tad impressed. "Good thinking." She rewarded, taking one of the cans off him.

They settled down on the three-seater couch with the quilt over them, bowl of popcorn balanced on top of them and soda cans in their hands. Kari resumed the DVD and stared off at the screen.

A little while into the show, Aaron began to wonder why Kari seemed to like this show. It didn't really appeal to him. "Why are we watching this?"

"Why?" Kari asked, a little sad. "Don't you like it?"

"It's not awful." He lied. "It just doesn't seem like the sort of show you'd be into."

She sighed, before answering. "I used to watch these DVDs all the time when we lived in England because…"

"Because what?" He questioned when she didn't finish.

"They remind me of you."

"Me?" Aaron scrunched his face up. "How?"

"Greg looks like you, don't you think?"

The male studied the screen for a moment, staring at the man who portrayed Greg Montgomery. He had to admit, now that she'd mentioned it, there were a few similarities. "I suppose he does look a little like me."

"A little?" Kari chuckled. "Dad he looks a lot like you; only younger and better looking."

"Excuse me." Aaron called out, mock hurt spread across his face. "Younger and better looking?"

"Well he is."

Aaron jabbed his daughter lightly in the side, earning a giggle from the teen. The pair retuned their attention to the screen and Aaron pulled Kari tight into his side, as she rested her head on his shoulder.

* * *

Emily Prentiss found an empty space beside her when she woke up. For a few seconds she wondered where her husband was, until she remembered back to the night before.

The woman dragged herself out of bed and decided to take a shower. After drying herself off and throwing on some clean clothes, she made her way downstairs.

Entering the lounge, the brunette spotted her husband and his eldest child, curled up on the couch, watching the television. Her vision moved to the bowl on the floor, with about six pieces of popcorn left in it, and the empty soda cans on the coffee table.

"Please tell me you two haven't been up all night, watching movies, eating popcorn and drinking soda." Emily asked with a smirk, causing the pair to jump slightly.

"Not all night." Aaron quickly defended. "Just since 1.46."

Emily sighed, but was unable to stop the smile that crept onto her face. "You need to sleep, you know. If I catch you doing this again, I will ground you both."

"Hey Emily," Kari called smiling up at the adult in the doorway. "Don't you think that guy on the screen looks a lot like Dad, only younger and better looking?"

The female glanced at the screen, before chuckling softly. "Yeah, he does."

"Okay, now I'm really hurt." Aaron said, playfully glaring up at his wife. "I'll show you younger and better looking."

With that said, the male launched up off of the couch towards his wife, as she ran further into the room. He chased her around the coffee table about three times, until he stood on a piece of Lego and decided to let it go for the time being.

Kari laughed at the adults. "How old are you two?"

"Old enough to know better." Emily told her, grinning down at the teenager.

"What time is it now, anyway?" The girl asked.

"About 7.30."

"Okay, I'm gonna go take a shower." Kari announced, standing and moving towards the door.

Before she could leave, Jack came into the doorway and looked around the room. "Hey no fair, I want popcorn for breakfast too."

Kari laughed at that, before ruffling her little brother's hair and heading off upstairs.

Aaron moved over to his son. "We didn't have popcorn for breakfast; we had it late last night." He informed his son. "How about you just have some cereal for breakfast and then you can have some popcorn tonight after dinner."

Jack thought about that for a moment, before grinning up at his father. "Okay." The little boy ran off into the kitchen.

Once his son was out of sight, Aaron turned to find Emily picking up the soda cans off the floor. He came over to her and pulled her into a hug, whispering in her ear. "Don't think I've forgotten about that 'younger and better looking' comment."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that." Emily replied playfully. "How could I ever make it up to you?"

"I can think of a few ways." He told her, his hands making their way down to her ass, as he pulled her into a tender kiss.

The couple pulled about after a bit and Emily continued to tidy up her husband's mess, while he went upstairs to shower.

* * *

Thanks again to everyone reading and supporting this. Your reviews, alerts, etc… really mean a lot. Please keep them coming. The last few chapters have been very Kari based, but the next one will be about both girls as well as the reappearance of Adam.


	15. Chapter 15

Later that morning, once everyone had finished showering and had eaten breakfast, Aaron, Jack and Emily sat in the family room, playing one of Jack's games, while Melissa and Kari sat in the younger teen's bedroom.

The pair had been chatting for a while, but there was something on Melissa's mind; something she wanted to ask Kari, but didn't know how to ask it. The lighter haired girl was also holding back her question as she was a little afraid of the answer she might receive.

"Kari?"

"Yeah." The older girl's eyebrows furrowed a little at the serious tone in her sister's voice. "What's up?"

"I…" Melissa still didn't know exactly what to say, but she wanted to ask her question, no, she needed to ask her question. "What's going on between you and Emily?"

"What?" Kari was a little taken back by the question. She suddenly felt defensive, like she had done something wrong, that she needed to deny. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, why is she like your best bud?" The fifteen year old spat.

"She's not." Kari jumped up from her sister's bed. "I'm just trying to get along with her; she is Dad's wife after all and I don't want to spend the rest of my life arguing with Dad or Emily. I'm just being nice to her, you should try it sometime. She's actually not that bad, you know. You should give her a chance."

"She had you in tears the other day." Mel shot back at her, also springing up from the mattress.

"That wasn't her fault." The older teenager defended. "I was upset because of Michael."

"So what, you want Emily to be your Mom?"

"No." Kari spat. "Of course not, I just don't want to be her enemy for no reason. I don't see why you won't even try to get along with her."

Melissa thought about that for a minute, before she spoke. "I just don't want her to let you down."

Kari sighed, before pulling her little sister into a hug. "She can't let me down, because I don't expect anything from her. I don't see her as a Mom, but that doesn't mean I want nothing to do with her." The girl pulled back to look her sister in the eyes. "Let's say you're right and she leaves, does it matter that we were nice to her before she left? No, it doesn't." She paused for a moment. "But what if she stays? She might stay with our family forever. Do you really want to spend forever arguing with Emily and pushing her away, just in case she leaves us?"

Mel huffed out in annoyance. "No, I guess you're right. She just ticks me off, that's all."

The dark headed girl chuckled a little at that. "Well it's not exactly hard to tick you off."

Melissa returned the chuckle, flopping back down onto the bed. "Okay, I will try to get along with Emily, if you come to the park with me today."

"What?" Kari stared down at the younger girl, a little confused. "Have you even looked out of the window today?"

The young girl stared towards the glass barrier and her face dropped; it was raining. "Come on it's only a little shower."

"A little shower?" Her eyes widened. "It's torrential rain out there, there's no way I'm going out in that."

"But I wanted you to meet my friend." Melissa whined, smiling as she thought back to her encounter with Adam.

"You're friend?" Kari inquired, intrigued by her sister revelation. "What friend?"

"He's just some guy I met at the park."

"He's a he?" The older girl raised her eyebrows at that, smirking down at her sibling.

"Yes." Mel blushed a little. "His name's Adam and he's really sweet."

"Well I'd love to meet him." Kari announced, joining Melissa on the bed. "But do you seriously think he's going to be out in this rain?"

Melissa sighed. "No, I guess not."

"We can go to the park tomorrow, if it's not raining." Kari assured her sister, bringing a big smile to the younger girl's face.

* * *

Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough for Melissa. She couldn't wait to see Adam again. She didn't really know why she liked him so much. He just seemed to make her feel good about herself, which was something no one other than Kari had been able to do in a long time. Not to mention, he was hot.

The teenager could hardly hold back her excitement when she woke up the next morning to see the sunlight intruding up the walls through the sides of the drapes. She leaped up out of bed and yanked the heavy drapes open, grinning out the window as the bright light filled the purple room.

She took her time getting changed, making sure to pick out a nice outfit, before racing off to her sister's room.

"Come on, get up sleepy head!" Melissa shouted, pouncing onto the double bed and pulling at her sister's arm. "It's not raining."

The older girl yawned as she sat up on the bed. "What time is it?"

"Time to go to the park." Mel stated matter of factly. "Now get up."

Kari groaned as her younger sister bounced out of the bedroom, before slowly dragging herself out of the large bed and getting dressed in 'zombie mode'.

She made her way downstairs and into the kitchen, where Jack and Mel sat talking while Emily and Aaron were making breakfast.

"Something smells nice." Kari announced as she entered the room.

"We're having Bacon and Eggs." Jack called out excitedly.

"Awesome." The dark haired teen joined her siblings at the table and chatted, while the adults continued to cook.

After breakfast Melissa asked Jack if he wanted to go the park, but he was spending the day at his friend, Lucas's house, so he couldn't go with them.

Although Melissa loved her little brother, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't slightly relieved that he couldn't go with them. She'd already lied to him about Adam once and he bought it, but if he saw them together again, he may be more suspicious.

* * *

The park was quiet as there weren't many other people around; just a few teenagers hanging around the basket ball court and a couple with their young children.

Kari and Melissa made their way over to the swings and talked as they slowly swung backwards and forwards.

They had been at the park for a while and there was still no sign of Adam. Melissa was getting a little impatient; she really hoped that he would show up.

Kari was just enjoying being out of the house in the fresh air.

The girls were laughing and joking about some of the things they used to get up to when they were younger, when they were interrupted.

"Good Morning Ladies." A masculine voice called from behind the pair.

The girls spun round to face the voice. Kari's eye narrowed as she took in the sight of two men stood before her; late twenty's to early thirty's. She was about to open her mouth to tell them to do one, but Melissa spoke first.

"Hey Adam."

The older teen's eyes widened and she stared at her sibling for a moment, before returning her gaze to the men. _You have got to be kidding me!_

* * *

Hey everyone; thanks so much for all your reviews. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry it's been a while since my last update, I will try to update a bit quicker, but I'm struggling a little bit. I know exactly where this story is going, but I'm just finding it difficult to actually write it. Please leave a review :-)


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